Community Ofrenda: A Día de los Muertos Celebration

This time of year holds special meaning at Tu Nidito as we observe Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead. We have developed our own unique tradition around this day to celebrate and honor the special people in our lives who have died. Typically, our families gather for a colorful evening to share reflections about those special people. While we can’t have this celebration in-person at Tu Nidito this year, our program team has been hard at work coming up with meaningful ways to recognize this day over Zoom with Tu Nidito families.

Among their support group, each family is invited to share about their special person who has died; who they are, what they love and miss about them, and any stories and memories they’d like to share. Then they have the opportunity to share any photos or mementos of the person. The celebration also includes live guitar playing and singing from our beloved volunteer, Bruce, as well as a special candle lighting ceremony.

To bring a sense of unity during this season that we so deeply cherish, we decided to create our own community Ofrenda or Memory Table at Tu Nidito. In short, an Ofrenda is a beautiful culmination of photos and mementos to remember and honor loved ones who have died. If you’re interested in the meaning behind each component of the Ofrenda, or you’d like to put one together yourself, check out this informative “how-to” video led by our Support Specialist, Diana.

Over the past few weeks, we have built an overflowing Ofrenda by collecting names, stories, and photos of loved ones who have died. We asked our families, volunteers, Remarkable Moms, board members, and staff to contribute as they see fit. We hope you enjoy the final result—a very special display to honor and remember some very special people.