As Día de los Muertos nears, vibrant traditions come alive to honor and remember loved ones.
Here in Woodburn, many are celebrating, including the local library and museum. The Woodburn Museum is paying homage to Día de los Muertos through a new exhibition on display now through the beginning of November.
The photographs at the museum’s Día de los Muertos exhibit are the first thing to grab your eye as you glance over the display. Taken by photographer Alejandro IV Barragan, the photos depict Day of the Dead celebrations in San Andres, Mexico, the original homeland of the holiday.
One image shows a girl and her family baking pan de muerto, a traditional Mexican sweet bread with a round shape that symbolizes the circle of life and death typically made during the holiday. Another captures graves decorated and lined with candles during the celebration of life.
For museum curator Laura Cannon, the decorated sugar skull photograph is one of her favorites.
“I love colors and bright things, so of course, my eyes are always drawn to the sugar skulls because of just how playful and bright they are,” Cannon said.