DE resident remembers ‘Day of the Dead’

Although Halloween activities have wrapped up,  some folks on Delmarva are honoring a different tradition that has been around for centuries.

‘El Dia de los Muertos’  known as the ‘Day of the Dead’ is a mix of Catholic and indigenous beliefs, which is a celebration of a different outlook on life after death. This tradition hits home for one Delaware resident.

“It was a fun experience it wasn’t like a sad experience, I don’t remember people being sad,” says Leo Cabrera, the owner of Leo’s Modern Mixture.

Cabrera tells 47 ABC when he was growing up in Mexico the Day of the Dead was something he always look forward to in school.

“The teachers would always ask us  please bring a sugar skull  and my mom would take me to the market and I see stands of different sugar skulls, they’re just beautiful,” says Cabrera.

However Leo tells us the sugar skulls were only one part of this celebration. In places like Mexico City, they have parades where people dress up in vibrant skeleton costumes. He adds that people also prepare large meals and bring items their deceased family members enjoyed in their life to the cemetery where they were buried.

“The foods the things that that person loved in life, like beer, tequila, cigarettes,” says Cabrera.

Although the majority of the celebrations take place in Latin American Countries. Leo still holds on to bits of this tradition since he moved to the United States. He decorates his restaurant around this time with skull ornaments.

“They’re not the real sugar skulls, I wish i had the chance to go to Mexico and get thousands of them because i love the way they look and they i can display them,” says Cabrera.

His hope is that folks on Delmarva can continue remembering this tradition.

“I think with more Latinos in the United States this can become a big day with time,”says Cabrera.