by Michelle Mullen<\/p>\n
Bright marigolds, fluttering monarchs, towering skeletons and colorful spirit animals have transformed the New York Botanical Garden\u2019s Everett Children\u2019s Adventure Garden for fall as the garden debuts its first monthlong celebration of D\u00eda de los Muertos, when families honor relatives and other loved ones who have died.<\/p>\n
The tradition is observed primarily Nov. 1 and 2 and centers on the belief that death does not sever a person\u2019s place within a family or community. Rather than treating death only as a source of mourning, D\u00eda de los Muertos turns remembrance into a colorful celebration of life, with families often creating ofrendas, or altars, containing photographs, food, candles, marigolds and objects associated with those being remembered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are honored to introduce this new fall experience at NYBG,\u201d Jennifer Bernstein, the garden\u2019s president and chief executive, said in announcing the exhibition. \u201cD\u00eda de los Muertos showcases the beauty of this important tradition through horticulture, art and community while providing meaningful opportunities for reflection and connection in the garden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running through Nov. 2, the garden\u2019s exhibition brings the traditions of the Mexican holiday into the Bronx landscape through flora, folk art and interactive displays designed for children and adults.<\/p>\n
At the start of the exhibit is a large ofrenda, painted in bold pinks and yellows, where visitors are invited to clip handwritten notes to the altar as well as photos of the loved ones they lost to hang alongside them.<\/p>\n
The displays are accompanied by weekend music, dance performances, crafts and hands-on workshops throughout October.<\/p>\n
The grand finale at the end of the walkway features a towering figure of La Catrina, a skeleton that has become one of the most recognizable symbols of D\u00eda de los Muertos. She is typically presented in an elegant dress with a vibrant hat or flower crown to match.<\/p>\n
According to Kenia Pittman, the garden\u2019s director of exhibition and design operations, La Catrina originated as a satirical mockery of Mexicans who rejected their Indigenous roots and tried to imitate European styles and social status. Over time, she said, La Catrina evolved to symbolize death\u2019s universality \u2014 we all end up as bones, regardless of wealth or social status.<\/p>\n
The celebration culminates Nov. 1 with a D\u00eda de los Muertos parade featuring musicians, dancers, giant puppets, skeleton figures and monarch butterflies, along with cultural activities, food and communal remembrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have a lot of losses through our lives and it really does become a very joyous moment where we\u2019re celebrating the life of the people that were with use, and throughout all that sadness and loss that you\u2019ve had you remember the memories, the good times they\u2019re here with you, they\u2019ll never leave you,\u201d Pittman said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tNew York Botanical Garden,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t NYBG,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t D\u00eda de los Muertos,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Day of the Dead,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Everett Children\u2019s Adventure Garden,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t D\u00eda de los Muertos celebration,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Mexican culture,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Mexican traditions,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t ofrenda,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t altar,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t La Catrina,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t marigolds,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t monarch butterflies,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t skeletons,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t folk art,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t family activities,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t children\u2019s activities,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t cultural celebration,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Jennifer Bernstein,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Kenia Pittman,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t D\u00eda de los Muertos parade,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx cultural events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Mexican holiday,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t remembrance,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t community celebration,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t October events,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t November 1,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t November 2\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Michelle Mullen Bright marigolds, fluttering monarchs, towering skeletons and colorful spirit animals have transformed the New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[136457,128,94574,19501,136463,54266,87924,2096,1151,136454,136466,136453,56734,136462,136464,136465,136458,136459,129990,136467,136455,136460,9,641,24,6934,136468,43515,63,2109,136456,32230,136461,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-369702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-altar","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-cultural-events","tag-bronx-events","tag-childrens-activities","tag-community-celebration","tag-cultural-celebration","tag-day-of-the-dead","tag-dia-de-los-muertos","tag-dia-de-los-muertos-celebration","tag-dia-de-los-muertos-parade","tag-everett-childrens-adventure-garden","tag-family-activities","tag-folk-art","tag-jennifer-bernstein","tag-kenia-pittman","tag-la-catrina","tag-marigolds","tag-mexican-culture","tag-mexican-holiday","tag-mexican-traditions","tag-monarch-butterflies","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-botanical-garden","tag-new-york-city","tag-november-1","tag-november-2","tag-nybg","tag-nyc","tag-october-events","tag-ofrenda","tag-remembrance","tag-skeletons","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}