Spooky, scary, skeletons, are decorating the windows of homes all over Aurora in preparation for Halloween. But not all skeleton decorations are intended to be spooky. Some skeletons in particular, known as calaveras, have cultural significance to Mexican culture and represent a time of joyful celebration known as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
This holiday involves family and friends coming together to pay their respects to loved ones who have died by building home altars called ofrendas, dedicated to the deceased. An ofrenda, which may be large and elaborate, or simple and personal, is intended to welcome a deceased loved one to the altar setting by including their favorite foods, beverages, and personal items.
To celebrate Día de los Muertos and share this cultural experience with the community, the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) will be host to its 8th annual Ofrenda Competition for customers to show off their talents and keep the tradition alive! The offrendas will;; be Sunday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov. 6.
For this competition, we are honored to once again be a partner with the non-profit Athziry dia de Muertos, whose mission is to, “manage and promote dia de los muertos cultural events for the public in general.”
Individuals, families, groups, and organizations from the community are invited to create the best unique ofrenda. Entries in this competition will be able to express their creative talents, celebrate their cultural history, and honor their loved ones with a design that is special to them. The ofrendas in this competition will be judged on their color, culture, originality, and creativity.
The top three ofrendas will be awarded a plaque made by the Library’a amazing Makerspace team! Winning altars will be announced at the First Fridays event on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. followed by dancers, a fashion show, and more items of celebration!
Those interested in decorating an ofrenda, please contact event and program coordinator, Ali Lanthrum at alanthrum@aurorapubliclibrary.org for an application as soon as possible. The ofrendas will be on display to the public from Sunday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov. 6.
Want to learn more about Día de los Muertos before you view the display? The Library has multiple resources available. “We have a variety of books about Day of the Dead in English and Spanish available for all ages, as well as movies about this amazing celebration such as Coco,” said Library assistant Mariana Guerrero. This ofrenda competition is a part of our month-long Hispanic Heritage Month celebration honoring Aurora’s vibrant community.
For more information on programming, please check our events page at www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/events, or contact the Library at 630-264-4117.
Andrea Tiberi is the communications coordinator for the Aurora Public Library District (APLD).