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Día de los Muertos

Luisa Jane Loera participates as a Catrina in a recent Día de los Muertos 5K Run.
Photo submitted by Celia Rosales

Día de los Muertos

Annual 5K Run/Walk set for Saturday, Oct. 29
Sunday, October 16, 2022

After a two-year hiatus, the annual Día de los Muertos 5K Run/Walk and Kids Fun Run is set for Saturday, Oct. 29 at Hernandez Elementary School. Registration for the event is available at athleteguild.com/event/san-marcostx/ 2022-dia-de-los-muertos-5k-runwalk- kids-fun-run.

The idea for the Día de los Muertos 5K Run/Walk & Kids Fun Run began nine years ago during a volunteer event at Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos. While there, Celia Rosales met Rebecca Manzanares, who was recruiting volunteers to help at the local cultural arts center. During the meet up, Rosales noticed that several volunteers shared a common thread. No matter their age, ethnicity or education, they all experienced the loss of a loved one and expressed a wish to give back to the San Marcos community.

Rosales and her husband had lost their oldest son, Johnnie, in 2009, and had started a scholarship nonprofit organization. Manzanares had endured a close, personal loss around the same time. Their conversation about their loss included the first difficult steps forward and the struggles many deal with after the death of a friend or family member. They also discussed the struggles of the early local Hispanic leaders along with a wish to educate the public about Hispanic culture. Because Rosales works in the medical field, she was also concerned about the promotion of good health.

Thus, the idea for the Día de los Muertos 5K began. A planning group met with a local runner’s club to discuss the 5k idea. Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos joined in the conversation on how to honor and remember those Hispanic “firsts” who were trailblazers in San Marcos.

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) occurs in November. A traditional cultural holiday, it has been celebrated throughout the world for hundreds of years. To commemorate, family and friends gather together to pray and remember their deceased loved ones. Contrary to popular belief, Día de los Muertos does not celebrate death. Quite the opposite, it is a day to honor and remember the lives of family and friends who have died. Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes.

A common symbol is the skull “calavera,” known as La Calavera Catrina (the elegant skull). The print was originally created by Jose Guadalupe Posada and is now the predominant figure that is associated with Day of the Dead. Catrina serves to remind people that material things are only temporary and are not that important because in the end, all that is left is the skeleton. The San Marcos Día de los Muertos 5K offers a partner for Catrina, our own local “Juanito.” Juanito serves to remind us to live life now because tomorrow is not promised and that death can happen at any time, to anyone.

Traditionally, the Día de los Muertos 5k has posthumously honored a local San Marcos citizen who contributed much to the community in the past before they died. These honorees have included Ruben Ruiz, Petra Nicola, Agustin Lucio, Rick Hernandez, Tomas Cuevas, Ofelia Vasquez- Philo and Irene Mendez.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, the annual 5K event was not held due to quarantine restrictions. This year, instead of a single honoree, the planning committee decided to honor all beloved family and friends who died in the last two years. The 5k event offers unique trophies, music on-site by local DJ Jesse Cruz and family-friendly activities.

The Día de los Muertos 5k planning committee is staffed by volunteers. No one receives a salary. Proceeds generated will be allocated to scholarship awards for selected 2023 San Marcos High School graduating seniors, the Johnnie T. Rosales Memorial Scholarship, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666