Day of the Dead is ‘about life,’ says Ottawa festival organizer

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Fabiola Yzeta-Vincent, founder and executive director of Ottawa’s Day of the Dead Festival, says the lively fall event is all about living.

“The celebration is about life, it’s not about death,” Yzeta-Vincent said, adding that it was also about celebrating your own existence.

Yzeta-Vincent started Ottawa’s version of the popular Hispanic event eight years ago as a way to bring people together.

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Originally from Guadalajara, Yzeta-Vincent has been in Canada for 34 years and has been involved in the community since then, working to promote Mexican culture.

“The Day of the Dead celebration is really close to my heart. I think it’s a beautiful tradition and it’s something that anybody can relate to because everybody has a loved one that has passed away,” Yzeta-Vincent said.

The event was first held in the National Capital Region at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orléans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities moved to the ByWard Market, where dozens of people dropped in on Saturday to listen to Latin music, try traditional food and drinks and see art pieces, many of which featured skeletons and skulls, two of the symbols of the holiday.

The Day of the Dead takes place every Nov. 1 and 2, when friends and families celebrate those children and adults who have passed away and to bring their souls back into the community for a reunion.

Every year, Yzeta-Vincent and her husband make altars for their parents as well as other deceased family members and pets.

“When I put the altar, I really feel my parents are coming and they are with us. It’s very emotional,” Yzeta-Vincent said.

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Other Day of the Dead fests in the region on the weekend were at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne Park, and an altar and other activities at Gatineau’s city hall.

People of all ages crowded into the Market festival, many wearing colourful skull makeup and face paint. The festival included a workshop about how cultures around the world honoured and remembered loved ones who had passed away.

Each year, Yzeta-Vincent’s non-profit makes an altar to honour a specific group, with this year’s focusing on fallen soldiers. Typically, altars are decorated with flowers, coloured paper, skulls, crosses and food like corn and beans.

Rim At, who moved to Canada from Morocco this year, said she decided to attend the festival because she liked the idea behind the holiday.

“We always talk about like the living and life and everything and we forget about the people that left us,” At said. “It’s nice to remember them and to celebrate them.”

Sarah McArdle again took part in the parade with her dance group, Viva Mexico, which had been involved in the festival for the past few years. A dance teacher, McArdle said the holiday was really important in Mexican culture.

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“Being here is a way to show all of Ottawa how we come together to celebrate, how life goes on and we honour, we carry our ancestors’ memories with us,” said McArdle, whose dance group was to perform on Sunday.

McArdle and her group wore skeleton costumes, flower crowns and capes with butterflies, which she said symbolized the circle of life.

“Day of the Dead, Día De Los Muertos, is a time to honour our family and loved ones that have passed but instead of looking at it in a sad way, it’s to honour the legacy that they left behind,” McArdle said.

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