Renton teens create sugar skulls for Day of the Dead celebrations | SLIDESHOW

Published 11:12 am Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Local teens were treated to a Sugar Skulls, Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead art workshop by Amaranta Ibarra, Monday afternoon at the Renton Highlands Library.

Teens and a few adults learned about the traditionally Mexican celebration and decorated pre-made sugar skulls with glitter paint, sequins, assorted paper and other materials.

“Dia de Muertos is a Mexican celebration and it’s a mixture of two different indigenous and religious beliefs,” said Ibarra.”And we do believe that the spirits come every year and they visit us. So because of that we must be prepared.”

Mexican families usually set up altars to honor their deceased loved ones with four levels, she said. There is a level for water because the spirits are believed to be thirsty. There is a level for candles, so the spirits can see there way. There is a level for a picture of the loved one and a level for their favorite food.

Marigolds or cempazuchitl and Monarch butterflies are hallmarks of the season as the flower is in bloom this time of year and the butterflies return to Mexico from Canada. Dia de Muertos is celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2.

“I think now it’s pretty celebrated on the West Coast,” said Ibarra. “Dia de Muertos is celebrated believe it or not in New Zealand, the Philippines, Brazil and the United States.”

Jennifer Wooten, Teen Services Librarian for Downtown and the Highlands branch, chose the program for the library’s “Season of Stories and Songs,” because of the large Hispanic population in the area.

“I thought it would be a perfect fit for the community and it’s a teen program…,” Wooten said.

Teens at the library munched on Dead Bread or Pan de Muerto, a sugary white bread donated by Highlands bakery Flour, Sugar and More.

Renton resident Linda Garcia wanted to thank the library for putting on the special presentation.

“I think it’s a beautiful thing to be diverse and to allow other cultures to be a part of and embrace something different.”