Día de los Muertos – Milford style

La Posada and Felix’s Cantina on Second Street in Milford will be having an authentic Día de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead” in English, celebration on Saturday, November 2 from 3 to 7 p.m.

The holiday celebrates a tradition of honoring friends and family who have passed on. In contrast to the eerie aura of Halloween, Día de los Muertos is a spectacle of joy, color, and flavor, showcasing a profound appreciation for the cyclical nature of existence. It is at once soulful and joyful and brings the living and the honored dead into a shared space of remembrance and celebration. One of the main traditions of the holiday is to bring a photo of your loved one and some trinket or item that reminds you of them or that they would like.

Miguel Gonzalez, beloved chef at La Posada, is the son of Felix, for whom the restaurant is also named. On one Día de los Muertos, celebration, he brought a cup of hot chocolate as an offering, since Felix was renowned for loving hot chocolate. On this holiday, people bring their food and beverages as well as other tokens and place them on a large “ofrenda” (an offering table which is decorated with flowers and serves as the centerpiece of the celebration.

This is the first year that the restaurant will hold this celebration, and they are planning to make it an annual event. There will be music — some specific to the day — and Mexican street food for sale, such as elote, churros, tacos, quesadillas, and possibly other Mexican food specific to this holiday such as marquesitas, a traditional Mexican dessert from Mérida that uses custard, chocolate, caramel, and cheese to fill a thin crepe. Other activities include face painting and piñatas. People may wear costumes if they like. There will also be a surprise unveiling of their answer to s’mores. That would be “s’murros” (churros, chocolate, and marshmallows). There will also be a showing of “Coco,” the Disney movie about Día de los Muertos.

Steven Rosado, director of Development at Milford Hospitality Group, said, “I would like to see my hometown [Milford] embrace a Mexican holiday that they might not have known about before.” To that end, he is inviting the public to come to the restaurant and celebrate this holiday and to bring a photo of a loved one who passed, as well as a token representing them to be placed on the ofrenda. Embracing the ofrenda may bring people closer to the ones that came before them.