After attending the virtual Ofrendas for the Future event, I walked away with an immense respect for the practice of being spiritual (without necessarily being religious), and honoring and respecting your own, and others’, cultures and customs. When each of the panelists were talking about how they honor their ancestors and the people that came before them, they had such an immense respect for their memory and for the traditional process in which each of them is remembered. I also noticed how even though many of these diverse women came from different cultures and different sides of the world, you could find a common thread of respect and peace for their customs and the ways in which their ancestors set a path for them. In addition, something that really resonated with me was when one woman said that even though she was not Latinx, she still worked near el Centro de la Raza, and having access to those small altars with which to respect her own culture and ancestors was something that she needed. Touching on the conversation about appropriation, I thought it was great to see the sharing of culture and cultural practices without this act of appropriation. Maintaining respect and intention was the most important part, and the mother and daughter who make the large-scale altars said themselves that you should feel free to participate in their customs even if they don’t belong to the Chicano ethnic group, as long as there is reverence and understanding for the tradition. I thoroughly enjoyed this event because it gave me a lot of perspective and peace to aid in some of the grief in these difficult times. My favorite thing about his event was seeing so many proud women of color representing their customs and faiths in such a respectful and inclusive way. Thank you for making this available to us.
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