This story has been updated.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, downtown Hartford’s Pratt Street was filled with orange marigolds, brightly colored tissue paper decorations and children dancing to live Mariachi music with sugary ‘pan de muerto’ in hand.
The occasion marked the beginning of Día de Muertos — Day of the Dead — season around Hartford. This event was organized by Helena’s Casita, a community cultural organization, in collaboration with vintage shop Gentle Bull, the Wadsworth Museum of Art, the Connecticut Science Center and the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History.
The Day of the Dead originated among indigenous peoples in Mexico, who celebrate their ancient ancestors, family members who passed away, and sometimes even pets, on Nov. 1 and 2. Other Central and South American countries have similar traditions such as El Día de los Difuntos in Ecuador and Peru, or El Día de Todos Santos in Guatemala.
Over the years, this tradition gained popularity in the United States as it migrated to this country with its people. In Connecticut, Mexicans are the second-largest Hispanic group, after Puerto Ricans. Nearly half of Hartford’s residents are Hispanic, according to the latest national census.
The Pratt Street celebration was open to all. There were Boricua accents singing Vicente Fernandez songs, and Creole speakers commenting “Kèt!” and “Mezanmi!” as they savored the traditional hot chocolate.
Founder of Helena’s Casita, Helena Delphina, along with other organizers, said she took care to honor the tradition in Hartford with respect, by providing a space for art, culture and memory in downtown.
Delphina, who is of Salvadoran and Mexican descent, organized the first event of its kind in 2022, which she called a “love letter to Hartford.” She didn’t grow up celebrating Día de Muertos, but when her sister Charlie Gonzales died in 2010, her family began honoring her with this tradition. Now the celebration is a more personal and intimate part of her life.
For some Mexican families who attended, this event was pleasantly nostalgic. Some said they might not have celebrated Día de Muertos if it weren’t for these gatherings.
Ana Jimenez
Such was the case of Ana Jimenez, a Mexican woman who has lived in Connecticut for more than 30 years, and convinced her two daughters to accompany her to enjoy the festivities in the city.
“I actually don’t set up an altar here, but I’m left with a longing for the traditions of my country,” Jimenez said. “This event makes me happy because it allows us to teach our children about the traditions and the importance of our deceased loved ones, that we don’t forget them even if we move away, and that they can still be united with the family.”
Jimenez recalled that in her hometown, Xochimilco, her mother would set up the Día de Muertos offering on Oct. 30, while her siblings visited the cemetery for a vigil. During the ceremonies, her mother typically gives out bags with bread, fruit and a sugar skull, which they then distribute to the neighbors.
Although Saturday’s event in Hartford wasn’t the same, Jimenez said she hoped Delphina will do it again next year, and so she can continue to encounter Mexican traditions on the street — and other Latinos in the city who celebrate and embrace them.
Juana Hurtado
Juana Hurtado from Bolivia, has been in Hartford for just over a year. For Hurtado, the Day of the Dead each year brings intense grief and deep affection for the people she misses who passed away.
“It is always important to hold these events so that we do not lose what is culture, the traditions of always loving the people we have lost. As a community, it makes us fraternize and share the hard moments we have lived through,” Hurtado shared, holding back tears.
Hurtado sets up an altar in her home in honor of her parents and her husband, who recently passed away. She arranges chocolate breads and candles to light the way for them when they visit on the night of Nov. 1.
Tammy Ramos
Tammy Ramos, a Meriden resident with a Mexican family, also sets up an altar in her home. Since her grandmother died, her mother began preparing one annually, and although she knows her grandmother will always be present, the Day of the Dead offers a different type closeness to her.
“I remember her much more than usual on this day. I feel her closer,” Ramos said. “Opening the doors of our home to her gives me a certain calm and peace to think that she visits us through the altar.”
Ramos brought her 4-year-old daughter to the event, who jumped around and showed off her painted face, which was made to look like a skull. Ramos’ younger son stayed home with her mother. Ramos said she wants to pass along her culture to her two children by setting up altars each year.
Lexi Grant
Lexi Grant drove from Manchester to pick up her grandmother in Vernon. Together, the two of them placed a photo of Grant’s deceased grandparents on the community altar on Pratt Street.
Grant’s Puerto Rican grandmother, Olga Iris De Jesús, has lived in Connecticut since she was 15 and had never celebrated Día de Muertos or set up an altar. When her granddaughter learned about the event, she encouraged her to participate.
“Putting the photos on the altar means that they died, yes, but on this day I remember them, I remember everything about them,” said De Jesús, as she paused and looked through the photos of her deceased husband.
Between mourning and celebration, Grant said her feelings were bittersweet. She reminisced about her grandparents. But, as she spent time visiting with people on Pratt Street, the dancing, candles, food and live music became like a comforting embrace.
“It is beautiful to bring together different communities and ethnicities, especially in the current political climate, to honor and feel proud of who we are, our roots and traditions,” Grant said.
“I think Hartford is very multicultural and I feel like it’s a place where one can be proud to say, ‘I’m from Hartford, Connecticut.’”
Correction: A previous version of this story said Helena Delphina’s family began celebrating Día de Muertos after her sister, Charlie Gonzales, died in 2015. Gonzales died in 2010.