The ofrenda at the 2021 Dia de los Muertos festival is adorned with candles, decorations and photos of lost loved ones. (Chronicle file photo)
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Popular Day of the Dead festival returns to Martin Square Oct. 15

By the end of Homewood’s first Dia de los Muertos festival last year, the crowd got into the spirit of the event, and Martin Square was filled with people dancing along with larger than life La Catrina and El Catrin figures.

The Day of the Dead festival will be back from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, and Gloria Contreras, art and performance curator, hopes to fill the square with color, music and joy.

Dia de los Muertos festival in Homewood is on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Homewood officials were surprised by the large turnout for the first festival last year. Former Events Manager Allisa Opyd said she expected several hundred people, but she estimated 2,000 or more showed up.

Contreras said the traditional features from the Day of the Dead observance in Mexico will return, but she will add new artwork and has a bright surprise in store that will be revealed during the dance.

She is encouraging everyone to come in costumes appropriate for the occasion. The most common characters associated with the festival are La Catrina and El Catrin, which include skull makeup or face paint and colorful garb.

The tradition began about 1910 when Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada created a print of a woman’s skull with an elaborate big hat. It was intended as a satire of Mexican women who adopted European mannerisms, forsaking their own culture.

A family dressed and made up in the festival theme pose for a photo during the 2021 Dia de los Muertos event in Homewood. (Chronicle file photo)
A family dressed and made up in the festival theme pose for a photo during the 2021 Dia de los Muertos event in Homewood. (Chronicle file photo)

Winners of the costume contest will receive prizes from local businesses.

There will be an ofrenda, an altar where people can place photos of deceased loved ones or items that connect to the memory of someone who is gone. Contreras said people should bring photocopies of photos, not the originals, in case they get damaged or lost during the event. 

Photos of pets are welcome, too, she said. Animals play a key role in the tradition. They meet the newly dead as they cross over into the afterlife. 

“It’s animals, especially dogs, that will actually guide you toward where you are supposed to go, so you won’t be in purgatory,” Contreras said.

Her newest paper mache sculptures will feature animals, including a scorpion that currently fills her living room as she puts the finishing touches on it; a peacock that will have a tail 15 feet wide and 9 feet tall; and a hummingbird, which has a special place in the tradition, Contreras said. 

The ofrenda at the 2021 Dia de los Muertos festival is adorned with candles, decorations and photos of lost loved ones. (Chronicle file photo)
The ofrenda at the 2021 Dia de los Muertos festival is adorned with candles, decorations and photos of lost loved ones. (Chronicle file photo)

“It’s like old school tweeting. When people are very sad and they are missing their loved ones, the legend goes that they send the hummingbirds to cheer them up,” she said. “It’s a little text message that says ‘I’m OK.’” 

The event also will include a large butterfly sculpture, which was a popular photo background last year, and a tree of life piece.

There will be face painting by Homewood-Flossmoor High School art students, and a Mariachi band sponsored by Windy City Cannabis at 5 p.m.

“We’re going to have a lot of noise. Last year it was too quiet” until the dance began, she said.

The chilenos dancers will begin at 8 p.m.  

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