Cecilia Vargas wore a traditional Mexican dress hand-stitched by Mexican artisans. She accessorized with marigolds, one on her head and two on her earlobes as earrings.
She wore a shawl with the Virgin Mary painted on fabric over her shoulders.
“I wear my culture with pride,” she said.
Vargas, who was born in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, was celebrating Dia De los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at Forest Home Cemetery on Saturday and thinking about her most recent loss: her mother, who died around a months ago.
More than 2,000 people were expected to attend the Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum Dia De los Muerto Festival on Milwaukee’s south side.
The festival opened with a 5K run at 9am. About 500 runners registered for the run.
Attendees then enjoyed food from local food trucks, local vendors, children’s arts and crafts, traditional Mexican music, performances and community resource booths.
Vargas walked around the church appreciating the various ofrendas (altars) that honor the lives of loved ones who have died.
“My mom suffered a lot at the end,” she said. “Now, we are remembering and honoring her life.”
This is the third year Forest Home Cemetery has hosted a Dia de los Muertos festival. In 2019, the cemetery held a small festival without vendors. In 2020, the festival was not scheduled due to COVID-19.
“This year is much bigger than last year,” said Kevin Rutherford, Forest Home Cemetery sales manager. “He just keeps getting bigger every year. We understand the community and the place we’re in, so it’s important for us to show that we care.”
Forest Home Cemetery was established in 1850 in Milwaukee. It is the resting place for past mayors, business leaders, beer barons and pioneers. The cemetery is still fully operational and offers free walking tours and resources for the community.
Planning the event takes months. The planning committee consists of Latinos who put together decorations and organized vendors and displays, among other tasks.
“We wanted it to be run by the community, for the community,” explained Sara Tomilin, executive director of Forest Home Cemetery.
Ivana Guerrero-Garcia is a youth community organizer with UMOS and bilingual educator at the Latina Resource Center. In addition to the decorations, her team put together an offering honoring the lives of those lost to domestic violence.
Six names appeared in the ofrenda.
“In the summer, within a two-week period, there were at least six lives lost to domestic violence; all those victims were women or people of color, and none of them (previously) reported anything.” Guerrero-Garcia said. “This means that community members are not aware of what resources are available to them.”
Saturday’s event was aimed at promoting awareness of those resources. Several community organizations, such as Safe & Sound Milwaukee, Walker’s Point Center for the Arts and UMOS- Latina Resource Center, provided resources and information.
Celebrating the lives of the lost
In Latin American culture, and most popularly in Mexico, Dia de los Muertos is a day to celebrate the dead.
“For us, it’s not something sad, but a celebration of the life they had,” Jacqcelyn De La Fuente said in Spanish. “It’s about not being afraid of death.”
Marquette University student Julia Basurto volunteered to paint faces with her sorority, Sigma Lambda Gamma. She was eager to share her Mexican culture with others.
She recently lost her uncle, whom she had met less than a year ago.
At home, she has an ofrenda decorated with things that remind her of other family members who have passed away, such as perfume, glasses of tequila, candles and flowers.
“These events are not just for Hispanics, she said. “It helps us all become a better community overall.”
