Brian Slattery Photo
Smiling, Erika and Jessica Sanchez held up a picture of their grandfather, Erineo, in front of two of the enormous puppets that would soon be marching through the streets of Fair Haven as part of the annual Día de los Muertos parade.
“I have never been to a Día de los Muertos event,” Erika said. “I’m getting in touch with my roots and I want to honor the spirits of those who have passed.”
Erika never met her grandfather, who died in Mexico long ago. She is from a mixed status family, as her mother is undocumented. Erica is not; she fights for the rights of undocumented families and students as a member of CT Students for a Dream.
The banner behind the altar translates to “they wanted to bury us, but didn’t know we were seeds.” The saying appeared among protests in Mexico for the 43 students who were kidnapped in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico in 2014. The remains of two of the students have been found. All the others are presumed dead.
In the picture, Erineo looked serious and kind. Erica was about to carry that picture through Fair Haven to Bregamos Theater on Blatchley Avenue. There the parade would end, the party would begin, and she would place Erinero’s picture on an altar made to remember the dead, alongside dozens of other photos, including those of Trayvon Martin, Gabriel García Márquez, and the close relatives of others.
“I’m so excited to honor his life,” Erica said.
The Sanchez sisters were two of dozens of people who showed up at the end of Hill Street in Fair Haven to take part in New Haven’s Día de los Muertos parade on Saturday.
In the hour before the parade started, people put the finishing touches on some of the puppets, whether the large dragon that took many people to control …
… or the handheld puppets meant for one.
Others had themselves decorated.
On the street outside, a low-riders’ club, participating in the parade for the first time, marshaled its own forces, in the front seat …
… and in the back.
A masked John Lugo of Unidad Latina en Acción enlisted a couple more people to help with the dragon.
At just after 6 p.m., the parade was ready to go.
The parade took to the streets to find an eager public waiting for them. “They always pass by here,” a smoking woman explained to her neighbor, just before Lugo’s lead car arrived, loudspeakers strapped to the roof. Delighted adults trick-or-treating with their equally delighted and slightly incredulous children stopped in their tracks on street corners to watch the parade go by.
As the parade reached the intersection of Grand Avenue and Ferry Street, people poured from the surrounding businesses and lined the curb to cheer. Photographers snapped photos and some in the parade fluttered onto the sidewalks, as if to bless the spectators.
“Happy Halloween, everyone!” a woman shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Happy Halloween!” a child shouted back.
Dean Montiero Photo
The Donald made an appearance, too, as a piñata. He didn’t get any votes. He did get lots of whacks.
David Sepulveda contributed reporting.