Crowds convened outside Mountain View City Hall on Saturday to celebrate Día de los Muertos during a city-sponsored event commemorating the lives of loved ones who have died.
The civic center was filled with tents displaying colorful ofrendas, or altars with offerings for the ancestors, as part of the celebration of the Day of the Dead, a holiday with its roots in Mexico that is typically observed Nov. 1 or 2. The ofrendas were decorated with marigold paper flowers, sugar skulls and candles as well as photographs of deceased family members.
“It’s meant to honor the people who came before us,” said Olga Melo, a Mountain View resident and community advocate, who had set up an ofrenda at the plaza.
An altar created by St. Joseph School Mountain View, with a framed photo of a teacher’s sister who passed away. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
A young attendee looks at an altar in the trunk of a car. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
An attendee holds a decorated sugar skull. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
Dancers with Dulce Tricolor Venezolano perform. Photo by Seeger Gray.
The event also showcased traditional music and dance performances, including a mariachi band and an Aztec dance ensemble that electrified the crowd with their drumming, ankle rattles and elaborate headdresses.
Now in its fifth year, the event has grown massively in size, according to Nancy Ducos, the city’s multicultural engagement program coordinator. Originally, the Día de Los Muertos event was held at Rengstorff Park on the same day as the city’s Monster Bash, a Halloween celebration. Community members advocated for Día de los Muertos to be differentiated from Monster Bash, and the event was relocated to the civic center last year, she said.
“It’s very emotional,” Ducos said. “It shows we belong, we’re part of the city of Mountain View.”
María Ramírez helps adjust her friend Maribel Parajas’s outfit. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
Attendees dance with members of Grupo Esplendor Azteca Xipe Totec. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
A dancer with Dulce Tricolor Venezolano performs. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
Mariachi Cardenal de Stanford performs. Photo by Seeger Gray.
The event’s emphasis on inclusivity was meaningful to others as well who noted that many people are living in fear and uncertainty as immigration enforcement activities have ramped up in the region under the Trump administration.
“The community is under stress,” Melo said. “We’re afraid but we need to be brave and live life.”
Angeles Camacho, a Mountain View resident and student at Foothill College, similarly described the importance of the community coming together to celebrate cultural traditions. Her father, a street vendor, has been selling food on Escuela Avenue for 15 years, she said.
On Saturday, the family was selling corn, fruit and drinks at the plaza, the first time they had been allowed to do so as part of the city’s Día de los Muertos event, Camacho said.
“It means a lot to us,” Camacho said, before turning to help the next customer.
