Mexicans remember lives lost along the way
CITYWIDE In the entryway of a 16-year-old Mexican eatery on Main Street hangs a colorful painting of a skeletal family, surrounded by loved ones and pets that have passed away.
The painting that adorns Lula Cocina Mexicana was commissioned in 2002 by restaurant owner Theodore Lonsway for his wife Geraldine Gilliland, who had been married for 13 years at the time.
Three months after the painting was completed, Lonsway died.
Beneath the artwork, a table display has been set up for the restaurant’s annual “Dia de los Muertos” celebration, or “Day of the Dead” as it is referred to in the United States. The table is filled with traditional items related to the Mexican cultural holiday, including skeleton and skull figurines, a replica of a Spanish sweet bread called Pan de Muerto, and a photo of a smiling Lonsway, still looking after his restaurant, Gilliland said Wednesday.
The restaurant is one of many Santa Monica businesses and organizations celebrating the ancient Mexican holiday today and Friday.
The Day of the Dead is a cultural holiday that celebrates the lives of loved ones that have died. It is believed that the Day of the Dead has its roots with the Olmec people in the 12th Century and its traditions were modified throughout the subsequent centuries, including with the Aztec civilization, which added the skeletons and skulls often seen today, according to Xavier Yxayotl, a Mexican historian and performer.
Traditionally, the first day of the festivities are reserved for children that have died, while the passing of the adults, is commemorated on Nov. 2.
In Mexico, about 90 percent of the population celebrates Dia de los Muertos, Yxayotl said, as many celebrants visit the cemetery with the whole family and bring favorite foods of the people that have died.
The holiday is frequently misinterpreted as being the Mexican version of Halloween, perhaps because of the proximity of the two cultural occasions — Dia de Los Muertos begins the day after the cavity inducing mainstream holiday.
“Halloween is nice, but Day of the Dead is a real tradition for thousands of years,” Yxayotl said.
That tradition continues to be celebrated citywide.
The Temple Bar, located at 10th Street and Wilshire Boulevard, will hold a special Dia de los Muertos celebration on Friday, with musical performances by three Latin bands, including Mezklah, Upground and Quinto Sol.
Lula Cocina Mexicana will hold its annual Day of the Dead dinner tonight, featuring a five-course meal and table-side margarita for two. The event is already sold out, with about 120 reservations. The restaurant rolled back prices to that of the original year of the celebration 16 years ago — $35 a person.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 1, 2007. Read the original PDF.