Staying true to tradition is what has kept the community coming back to its annual Día de los Muertos celebrations, event coordinators at Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center say.

“There’s always great participation, and great anticipation, from the community,” said Belinda Menchaca, education director at the Guadalupe. “I think for our community – the students at the dance academy, their families – it’s an opportunity to be involved in a very moving presentation. It gives them great joy to participate.”

This year marks the 30th edition of the West Side center’s annual free Día de los Muertos event, which includes a dance and music program and a community altar. “La Vida De Los Muertos” is from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Plaza Guadalupe, 1327 Guadalupe St.

The event at the Guadalupe, along with a handful of others held by local organizations, started decades before Día de los Muertos became more widely known and celebrated across the city.

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Día de los Muertos, also called Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, is a holiday rooted in ancient Mesoamerican rituals and influenced by Roman Catholic customs. It honors the deceased and welcomes the return of their spirits for a temporary reunion.

It is celebrated in Mexico and other parts of Latin America on Nov. 1 and 2, with some celebrations starting days earlier. In the U.S., it is celebrated in Mexican American communities, though it’s grown to become a more widely recognized tradition.

“We were the first in the city to bring it out into a public setting,” said Malena Gonzalez-Cid, executive director at Centro Cultural Aztlan, a community based-organization located in the Deco District that aims to preserve, develop and promote Chicano/Latino art and culture.

A display of Día de los Muertos altars was the center’s first big event after it was established in 1977.

The opening reception for the “Altares y Ofrendas Exhibit,” the group’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration, is in its 49th year. This year’s event is from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at the center, 1800 Fredericksburg Road. The exhibit will remain on display until Nov. 12. There is no admission fee.

“We were criticized at first,” Gonzalez-Cid recalls of the celebration’s early years, long before Day of the Dead merchandise was sold at national chain stores and how-to videos on building ofrendas circulated on social media.

“People didn’t understand it and thought it was something spooky,” Gonzalez-Cid said, referencing the spiritual customs behind creating altars, or ofrendas, which are meant to guide the spirits of the deceased back home for a temporary reunion with loved ones.

Traditional ofrendas represent the afterlife, life on Earth and life before birth, and they contain items that represent the four elements – water, fire, wind and earth. Ofrendas typically include photos of the deceased and items that represent some of their favorite things, along with candles, flowers, food and vibrant decorations.

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Longtime observers of Day of the Dead acknowledge the holiday has evolved into more of a celebration of deceased loved ones, with most altars containing the traditional elements in artistic and personally meaningful displays that serve as tributes. Some families blend Día de los Muertos traditions with the religious customs of All Souls Day, which falls on Nov. 2.

Menchaca, who has participated in every Día de los Muertos celebration at the Guadalupe since 1996, said a similar evolution in Day of the Dead celebrations happened decades ago when altars that were traditionally built at grave sites and in cemeteries started to be displayed inside homes.

Organizations like the Guadalupe, a multidisciplinary arts nonprofit, brought that tradition to the arts world, she said.

With sponsorship by AARP, the Guadalupe for the past several years has been able to host free Día de los Muertos workshops that teach participants about the history of the holiday, including how to create the traditional items for an ofrenda.

Like the Guadalupe, the non-profit arts organizations San Anto Cultural Arts and Esperanza Peace and Justice Center also host free community workshops to help teach the traditions and history of Día de los Muertos. The workshops lead up to both organization’s free annual Day of the Dead celebrations, which have been held for decades.

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Esperanza’s annual celebration is in its 31st year. Its “Día de Muertos” event is from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Rinconcito de Esperanza, 816 S. Colorado St. Other related festivities, including an altar display and art sale, continue through Nov. 8.

San Anto, a West Side nonprofit that promotes community-based arts and engagement, has hosted its annual Día de los Muertos procession and celebration since 2001. This year’s procession starts at 6 p.m. Sunday at San Anto, 2120 El Paso St., and will end at the organization’s “Peace and Remembrance” mural, at the corner of South Trinity and San Patricio streets.

The local arts organizations that have hosted Día de los Muertos events for years say they’ve always made a point to include the community in their celebrations. The public has been invited to contribute to community ofrendas by bringing personal photos and helping to make its decorations, including papel picado and paper marigolds and butterflies.

Some event organizers say their Día de los Muertos celebrations also have stayed with the holiday’s original date of Nov. 2, which many believe is the traditional day set aside to honor the deceased.

The Guadalupe and Centro said they always hold their events on Nov. 2, regardless of the day of the week.

“If it falls on a Monday, then it’s on a Monday. If it’s in the middle of the week, then that’s when we have it,” Gonzalez-Cid said. “We don’t move it to a weekend because that’s what works best for everybody. You don’t do that for Christmas. That’s always on Dec. 25, no matter what day of the week.”

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This article originally published at San Antonians can celebrate Day of the Dead at these free events this weekend.