TheNewsMexico.com

City residents honor New York tragedy victims

Traci Carl, AP - 11/1/2001

MEXICO CITY - There are bagels and Mexican rice and photos of the World Trade Center, all in the memory of those who disappeared when New York's twin towers collapsed.

The traditional altar-like offering in front of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico is like many being assembled across Mexico for the country's annual ``Dia de los Muertos,'' or Day of the Dead, festival Thursday.

But this year, some Mexicans are using the offerings - which traditionally contain food and flowers for the dead - to remember those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

At Latin America's largest university, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), high school students built an altar with a replica of the World Trade Center and offerings in memory of the 17 Mexicans missing in the attacks, as well as the firefighters and police officers who were killed.

Marcela Cortina's family came up with the idea of building a giant altar in front of the U.S. Embassy, complete with one of New York's most famous foods, bagels. Her daughter and grandchildren live in New York City, near a fire station at 66th Street and Amsterdam that lost several firefighters in the attacks.

Cortina's three-year-old grandson, Cristobal Flores, celebrated his birthday with several of the firefighters on Aug. 24. They gave him a plastic firefighter's hat, which now hangs above their names on the altar.

``This is a very emotional event for us here in the embassy, and for the American community in Mexico,'' U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow said at the altar's dedication. ``The expression of solidarity on the part of my Mexican friends is very welcome and impressive.''

Cristobal and his family were in Mexico and helped dedicate the altar. Cortina's other daughter, who remained in New York, told the station's surviving firefighters about what her family planned to do.

``They cried,'' said Cortina's sister, Marcela Cortina, as she arranged flowers and candles left by passers-by. ``They were so touched. They couldn't believe we were doing this."

``It's been a wonderful work of love. We had no idea it would have this impact.''

Day of the Dead festivities officially begin Thursday, although many Mexicans began setting up their altars early in the week.

The festival features skeletons and candy skulls often decorated with the names of both the living and the dead.

While the festival is largely a solemn opportunity to remember dead loved ones, it also has a light side.

Preschools line up tiny wooden coffins alongside shrunken, sugar skulls with the names of their young students, while offices set up altars for recently fired employees, victims of an economic slowdown that has claimed thousands of jobs.

Many families set up altars in their homes with the favorite foods and liquor of the deceased. Some camp out all night at cemeteries ``conversing'' with deceased loved ones, eating and drinking and lighting fires believed to help lead spirits back to earth. The night of Nov. 1 is when the spirits of deceased children are believed to return; Nov. 2 is when the rest of the dead come back.

On Wednesday, Linda Messier, a Spanish teacher from State College, Pennsylvania., snapped photos of the embassy altar in Mexico City for her students. As Cortina described the Americans who have come by, often crying, Messier told her: ``I'm one of them.''

``I think it's a beautiful tradition,'' Messier said of the Day of the Dead activities.

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2001

Answers

OG,

Thanks for posting this beautiful article. It's comforting to hear some good news in the midst of all the fear...

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2001