Irene Mendez selected at 2019 Honoree

Families and communities gather every year at the end of October to remember their deceased loved ones, honor their legacies with favorite treats and memories, and celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This year that tradition will continue in San Marcos with the honoring of the late Irene K. Mendez as the selected 2019 honoree at the Día de los Muertos 5K Run/Walk & Kids Fun Run scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2 at Hernandez Elementary School.

Mendez was born and raised in San Marcos. She attended San Marcos CISD schools, and then Texas State University — then Southwest Texas State University — earning her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education. She spent her life serving the local community as a bilingual kindergarten teacher for 28 years until succumbing to cancer. During her life, she was recognized as a Career Ladder Teacher, an award given for excellence in teaching and Mendez Elementary School is named in her honor.

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated every year during the fall season. This cultural holiday has been celebrated throughout the world for hundreds of years by the gathering of family and friends to pray for and remember their deceased loved ones. Unlike what the name implies, Día de los Muertos does not celebrate death, according to Dia de los Muertos 5K Run/Walk and Kids Fun Run sparked in organizer Celia Rosales. It is a rejoicing and celebration of the lives of friends and family who have died.

“It’s a beautiful cultural tradition, it’s celebrated all over the world through various traditions,” Rosales said. “Different countries honor their lost loved ones in many different ways. It’s not really about what the name says, the Day of the Dead, we’re celebrating the lives of people that are gone from our lives, that were here and they matter to us, so we remember them.”

This will mark the seventh year for the Día de los Muertos 5K Run/Walk & Kids Fun Run, an annual event that everyone in the family can enjoy. Stay tuned for additional event details and online registration info.

5k proceeds will benefit the Johnnie T. Rosales Memorial scholarship 501c3 organization which provides annual scholarship awards to selected San Marcos High School students with a portion of the proceeds also benefiting the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos.

For general inquiries email diadelosmuertos5k@gmail.com.