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This Will Be The Year of the Vote

Mona Alvarado Frazier
Go Vote! MomsRising.org

 

For the last three months, you’ve read numerous articles, watched campaign ads, listened to your favorite cable news (mine is MSNBC)debate issues and swiped through social media.

This is the year of the vote.

Today is the day of reckoning.

Voting is important for my mom and my daughter. They realize what’s at stake for women in this country.

Last week I sat with my mother reviewing her mail-in ballot. She’s legally blind so I read every candidate statement and pro/con of all the propositions in a voice that’s twice as loud as I normally use because she’s also hard of hearing.

I repeated myself, often.

But that’s okay, Mom takes care with who and what she votes for every time. She draws the line on the ballot herself although she has to put the paper four inches from her eyes.

The process takes a little over two hours.

The next day, my daughter came to me with her mail-in ballot. This is her first time voting. After reading the candidate statements she declared,

“Some of them say a whole lot of nothing. I don’t want them to tell me what they’re going to do but what have they done.”

The procedure took her one hour. That’s a huge amount of time for a Millennial.  “Can’t they streamline this process?” she says.

One hour, two hours, that’s okay for the privilege to vote.

People of color and their allies fought hard for my right to vote.

I’m super-proud of Mom and my daughter for voting. That’s three generations of women voting in this family.

Many people today will stand in two, three hour lines before or after work in states where November weather is cold or rainy.

line of people who want to vote

Many of those people are parents who will juggle work time and child care to go vote. People who use canes, wheelchairs, and have mobility issues will find a way to go vote.

That takes a lot of conviction and dedication.

Thank you for using the power of your vote today. 

 

 

 

 

Latino culture

Día De Los Muertos is Coming, Are You Ready?

Mona Alvarado Frazier
Day of the Dead Ofrenda honoring Mexican women in the arts, 2015.

 

There is so much energy in the air I can feel the spirits descending.

November 1st is generally referred to as Día De Los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) or Día De Los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels).

November 2nd is the actual DÍa De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

The past week in America has been particularly sorrowful. Perhaps, honoring the departed on November 1st and 2nd is helpful to you.

During our childhood, we had altars year round. They always contained the Virgen de Guadalupe, Sacred Heart of Jesus, votives, and one or two photos of someone who recently passed.

To celebrate the Day of the Dead people make altars or ofrendas (offerings) to their deceased. This can be at a cemetery (like in Mexico), in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, wherever you like.

This year my mom made a Day of the Dead altar in the living room. One side of the altar contained the photos of her deceased sisters and brothers, sister-in-law’s, and cousins. The other side, as you can see, has photos of her parents and my dad, and Cesar Chavez, who my mother admired so much.

Ofrenda to parents and husband and Cesar Chavez

My sister’s ofrenda dedicated to the memory of her husband, friends, and our relatives:

A bedroom ofrenda for Dia De Los Muertos

 

An altar in the library of the high school where my sister works:

An ofrenda in a high school library
http://www.alvaradofrazier.com

 

Ofrendas and altars are our way of visiting with, remembering and honoring our ancestors and loved ones who’ve departed.

If you are thinking of making your own altar (you still have time) check out these past posts.

The Icons of Day of the Dead.

What’s Up With Mexican Culture and Death?

The Icons of Day of the Dead.

I leave you with these poems from sddayofthedead.org/poems

“In the indigenous, aboriginal perspective on death, both life and death are mere aspects of a common duality or eternal cycle, as denoted in the following Native American poem from North America:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on the snow.
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain.
I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.

When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry:
I am not there, I did not die.

What is Death?
What is death? It is the glass of life broken into a
thousand pieces, where the soul disperses like
perfume from a flask, into the silence of the eternal night.

Unknown Author

Through the Eyes of the Soul, Day of the Dead in Mexico
Unique Life
Be as happy as you can, oh king Tecayehyatzin
You who appreciates the jewels that flourish!
Will we live again?

Your heart knows this:
We only live once!
Vida única
¡Alégrate en extremo, oh rey Tecayehuatzin,
valuador de joyas florecientes!

¿Acaso una vez más vendremos a vivir?
Tu corazón lo sabe así:
¡Sólo una vez venimos a la vida!

Xayacamachan 1510 A.D.

 

If you have any questions/comments, please let me know. Thanks!