Día de muertas
Photo Essay by Rachelle Rodriguez
These photos were shot by Karica Laine in Canyon Lake on November 1st, 2021: in honor of my Grandma Rodriguez, Grandma Olivares, my Tía Sylvia, and my Tía Dora. Taken during Día de Los Muertos, I wanted to honor the recently deceased women in my family by celebrating them with the foods that so often brought us together: the papier-mâché pán dulce that my Tía Sylvia gave me for Christmas one year, and the pán de muerto that I lovingly baked at home. I drank chocolate out of the jarra that I got on a date with my Tía at La Villita, ate off the 1940s French China given to me by my Grandma Rodriguez, and I dressed in my grandmother’s clothing, and adorned myself with the family jewels. While I did not grow up with religion or faith or superstition, I found myself wanting to connect to my dearly departed- wearing their clothing or eating the foods that remind me of them are sometimes the strongest ways I can continue to honor them, and in doing so, I find new ways to connect to my own culture and identity.
