Alma Trevino's father loved pork tamales and Werther's caramel candies, and both are on the altar she is building for him.
"For the botanical gardens, we can't bring real food, but I displayed the things that my dad liked the most," Trevino said. "He was a fanatic for pork tamales, so I created some artificial tamales to represent his favorites."
Her altar, known as an ofrenda, will be on display during Naples Botanical Garden's Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. It’s a Mexican holiday that blends Indigenous and European traditions. It grew out of an Aztec feast honoring Mictecacihuatl, the goddess of death, which was held in late July and early August.
When Spanish settlers arrived, they tried to convert Indigenous people to Catholicism but faced difficulties erasing those customs. To combat this, they eventually moved to All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in early November, when Catholics honor the dead, and it is now traditionally marked Nov. 1 and 2. Some altars today include crosses. Trevino said the belief is that once a year the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin enough for spirits to visit.
"They come and they visit, and they follow the scent and they follow the food, and they spend the day with you," she said.
Her altar includes relatives from both sides of her family, with her father at the center. It also includes a photograph of her nephew, who recently died of a heart attack in his early 20s.
"When we lose our loved ones, all we ever want is to see them again," Trevino said, her voice trembling as she wiped away tears. "So, as you put these offerings, it truly is a connection on a spiritual level. It's wanting to let them know: I still love you, I still think about you, you're not forgotten."
She said sharing that loss with her mother and brothers brought them together.
"It feels like family. It feels like unity. It feels like we're not alone," Trevino said. "It's okay to miss them, and it's okay to still hold space for them in our current life, even if they're not physically here."
Maria Leticia Murillo Flood, who is building an altar at the garden for the fourth year, showcased a large black fabric covered in skulls. She said the skull imagery many people closely associate with the holiday has a history behind it.
An elegantly dressed skeleton called La Catrina, began as satire, she said. In the early 1900s, Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada drew a skeleton to mock Mexicans who tried to look more like the European Spaniards. Muralist Diego Rivera later painted the figure in full dress, and she became known as La Catrina.
"It was a satire initially," Murillo Flood said. For her, the holiday carries history and healing.
"You have the opportunity to come back and be with your loved ones. And that's what Día de los Muertos is."
Her display will be at the Naples Botanical event, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1. It will include music performances, dancers, arts and crafts stations and more. Tickets can be found on their website.
"Culture makes you feel like you belong. You are seen," Murillo Flood said. "And you're honoring your loved ones."
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