This year, the Little Village Chamber of Commerce is kicking off celebrations, inviting the public from all backgrounds to come out to a neighborhood-wide celebration this weekend, with over 50 participating small businesses where you can find everything you need for your offering.
“Part of a celebration is that everyone is welcome. Part of the celebration is that we want to honor everyone. Everyone. All of our grandparents, not just from Mexico, from Central America, South South America, Europe. It don’t matter. This celebration of everyone has gone through the same thing. We all have grief. We all have lost a loved one. That’s just a normal human thing,” Alfredo Palafox, outreach and membership specialist with the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, said.
Palafax added this is also a way to support the small businesses in Little Village trying to bounce back from economic setbacks, including last year’s federal immigration enforcement known as Operation Midway Blitz.
“It’s been a roller coaster. So sometimes we have a great week. Sometimes we have bad week, sometimes good weekends, bad weekends. It’s been a roller coaster, so nothing has been stable,” Palafax said.
The official holiday falls on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, which is considered as a window for departed loved ones to return to Earth and visit their friends and families.
Traditional altars often have marigold flowers, Day of the Dead bread, candles and sugar skulls.
Once you’ve gathered the items needed for your offering, you can head to the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen for a deep dive into the history of the beloved celebration.
“Día de los Muertos began with certain indigenous communities throughout Mexico and how they understood life and death. Many of them, you know, believe that death was not an end, but it was a continuance,” Kaelyn Andrade with the National Museum of Mexican Art said.
Museum officials said they’ve noticed a surge in attendance for this year’s Day of the Dead exhibit, adding that unlike other holidays, this tradition can provide those experiencing a great loss with much needed closure.
“I think it’s a space where people can come together to mourn, to laugh, right, to be happy. Because I think there’s also something really important about the tradition is also, this ability to be able to accept but maybe even laugh at death,” Andrade said. “It’s really nice to see also people outside of the Mexican American community who are also gaining interest for this tradition and finding it as a way to connect with loved ones who are no longer here.”
The Little village candy store Dulcelandia is among the businesses participating in the festivities.
“Everything is that we import from Guadalajara, from Monterrey and from Mexico City. That’s what that we get it from,” Dulcelandia owner Eduardo Rodriguez said. “When I started it. We had to tell people what Día de los Muertos meant. Right now it’s everywhere. Thank God for that.”
The store offers over 175 different types of Mexican candy. Their most popular item is a sucker called “pollo asado” or rotisserie chicken in English.
Rodriguez added the small businesses that make up 26th Street in Little Village are always worth exploring.
“What we have to offer definitely is the place to come. You can buy wedding dresses, they can send you the dresses, you can do most of the things. You can come to see doctors. You can know everything that 26th Street is very, very important for the community,” he said.
More on how Little Village businesses are celebrating can be found in the video player below.
The Little Village Chamber of Commerce said they will have a passport for visitors this weekend. Passports can be stamped at participating businesses for a chance to get a special commemorative shirt.
Visitors can follow the Little Village Chamber of Commerce’s social media pages this weekend for updates on all the fun taking place and which businesses they will be in.
More information and a complete guide can be found here.
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