Quinta Mazatlán offers outdoor Día de los Muertos altar
In Mexico, “Dia de los Muertos,” or “Day of the Dead” is a celebration and a reunion of the departed with their families. On this day, an altar with an ofrenda, a Spanish word for “offering,” is prepared to remember and celebrate departed loved ones. The belief is that during the Day of the Dead, the loved ones come to visit their living relatives. The ofrenda altar helps the dead observe, smell and taste. The most common ones have three levels, which represent heaven, earth, and the underworld. The six most common objects found on alters include: calaveras (skulls), cempaxuchil (marigold flowers), papel picado (perforated paper), pan de muerto (bread of the dead), salt to quench the thirst of souls, and photographs of the loved ones that have passed.