LOVED ONES DRAW ON MEMORIES FOR FESTIVAL CANOGA PARK HOSTS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer CANOGA PARK - Sidewalk art showing skeletons living it up, song- and-dance performances and memorials to loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl displayed on classic cars all had a place Sunday in the fifth annual Day of the Dead Festival. On Dia de Los Muertos Día de los Muer·tos n. See Day of the Dead. [Spanish : día, day + de, of + los, the + muertos, pl. of muerto, dead.] , as the day is known in Spanish, family members celebrate the lives of dead loved ones. Thousands of people flocked to the all-day street event near the Madrid Theatre, with a performance by the group Quetzal quetzal (kĕtsäl`) or quezal (kāsäl`), common name for a magnificent bird of the family Trogonidae (trogon family), found in the rain forests from S Mexico to Costa Rica at altitudes of up to 9,000 , Aztec dancers and a station where children painted and made paper flowers. ``It's something that goes back thousands and thousands of years in cultures in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. ,'' said Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez, D-San Fernando, who addressed the crowd on Sunday. The festival was held on Sherman Way between Canoga and Jordan avenues. Artists drew a variety of images in colorful chalk, including a skeleton eating a taco, a lizard and a portrait of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo[1](July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as European influences that include with a skull on her forehead. Cecelia Linayao did a portrait of a child holding cempasuchil flowers, marigolds traditionally brought out for Day of the Dead because of their vibrant odor and color. Jose Sanchez, 37, who heads the Aztec dancing group that performed Sunday, said the dead are thought to visit the living on Day of the Dead and the cempasuchil is traditionally placed to form a path leading them back to their resting place after the festival. Sanchez visited his brother's grave Wednesday, the actual Day of the Dead. He brought along mole dishes his brother liked and a bottle of tequila tequila Distilled liquor, usually clear in colour and unaged, made from the fermented juice of the Mexican agave plant. (See agave family.) It contains 40–50% alcohol. . ``It helps to keep them in mind and to pray for all the dead, especially the families (of those who died),'' he said. Anthony Mercado, 48, was not only trying to keep alive the memory of his nephew Vincent William Chavez III, but also the memory of his killing more than two years ago. The 20-year-old carpenter was shot as he walked in the 16600 block of Devonshire Street in the early-morning hours Noun 1. early-morning hour - an hour early in the morning forenoon, morn, morning, morning time - the time period between dawn and noon; "I spent the morning running errands" time of day, hour - clock time; "the hour is getting late" of July 12, 2003. ``Hopefully, the right person would happen to come by, maybe give us some information,'' said Mercado of Sun Valley as he looked at the memorial to his nephew. The memorial, with pictures and the text of a prayer, was placed at the side of Mercado's 1953 Chevy Bel Air Bel Air may refer to: Places in the United States:
Montanez, the assemblywoman, said she remembered the memorials to loved ones that she used to have in the home growing up, which could include anything from pictures to old tickets to a scarf the deceased used to wear. ``Anything, absolutely anything that reminded you of your loved ones, you create an altar with food and drink, hot chocolate - if they like to drink you put a little bit of tequila there,'' she said. Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Lisa Cabera, along with other local artists, sketch Day of the Dead chalk drawings (Fine Arts) a drawing made with crayons. See Crayon. - Lowell. See also: Chalk on Sherman Way during Sunday's Dia de los Muertos festival in Canoga Park. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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