I cry at movies….and this one in particular over the past year, since the passing of my much loved Grandma and Mother-in-law.  If you haven’t seen the Pixar movie Coco, it is about a boy called Miguel who accidentally visits his family in the afterlife on Dia de Muertos, the Day of the Dead. The story that follows really sums up how I feel about family history and how I would like to remember people I’ve lost and loved. 

Before watching this movie, I just thought Dia de Muertos was a Mexican version of Halloween and I didn’t really understand what it was about. It is more similar to All Saints Day and All Souls Day and takes place on 2^nd November each year.  It is a celebration of life to remember our ancestors, reuniting the living with the dead.

As part of this incredible fete each year, the tradition is to build private altars (ofrendas) containing the favourite foods and drinks, as well as photos and memorabilia, of departed family members. They are decorated with marigolds (Flor de Meurto), which are believed to guide spirits to their ofrendas. The hope is that the souls, will hear the prayers and the words of the living, so they can share a meal with them as they would have done when they were alive and know that they are remembered.

In the movie, Miguel discovers more about the story of his Great Great Grandfather Hector and why music was banned from their family. It is when Hector explains this to Miguel and sings a lullaby called ‘Remember Me’ that I start crying!

This blog is my ‘ofrenda’ to my ancestors so they know they are remembered and that we may stay connected with their souls, complete with virtual chocolate gingers for Grandma and a glass of white wine for Eve.

Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.

Remember me
Though I have to say goodbye
Remember me
Don’t let it make you cry
For even if I’m far away I hold you in my heart
I sing a secret song to you each night we are apart

Remember me
Though I have to travel far
Remember me
Each time you hear a sad guitar
Know that I’m with you the only way that I can be
Until you’re in my arms again
Remember me

Gets me every time!