'For my migrant sisters and brothers': Tucson honors migrants on Día de Muertos

Versión en español

Tucson, Ariz. – With lit candles in hand, dozens of people walked through the streets of Tucson on Sunday afternoon in commemoration of Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). The procession — which departed at dusk from the Global Justice Center on 26th Street — moved silently to El Tiradito on Main Avenue. There, by the dim light of the candles, the attendees honored the thousands of migrants who have lost their lives in the Sonoran Desert.

Isabel García, a representative of the Arizona Human Rights Coalition, explained to CALÓ News that the organization has been commemorating Día de Muertos in this special way for 25 years. More than half of the migrants who have died, she said, have not been identified.

In June 2000, García shared, the tradition began with a vigil at a place known as El Tiradito, an emblematic site in the city that has become a permanent shrine for those who have died at the border. Since then, the procession has been held every year on Nov. 2.

Fernando Adrián Sánchez Roldán, Mexico's consul general in Tucson, attended the procession and stated that this type of event constitutes an act of resistance.

"It's an act of resistance, a peaceful demonstration. We accepted the invitation to tell people that we are here to care for them, protect them, and do everything within our power for the Mexican community," he said.

At 6 p.m., the group departed from the Global Justice Center, a building housing offices for several organizations, marching to Main Avenue in the Barrio Viejo neighborhood.

Along the route, the participants walked in silence. Each person carried a candle, which, upon arriving at El Tiradito, they placed before an altar decorated with candles, flowers, images and objects related to migration.

A site dedicated to the memory of migrants

According to the Vamos a Tucson website, El Tiradito is a small, open-air shrine located in Tucson's Barrio Viejo that has withstood the test of time for more than a century. Also known as the "Chapel of Longings," the site pays tribute to the memory of migrants who have died trying to reach the United States by crossing the desert shared by Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.

Daniel Martinez, a sociology professor at the University of Arizona, told attendees that he began working on the issue of migrant deaths at the border in 2004. He started by reviewing autopsies and conducting research with the help of the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office.

According to his research, since fiscal year 1990, the remains of 4,202 people have been recovered, not including other cases investigated by Maricopa, Pinal and Yuma counties, he said. Eighty percent have been identified as men, 17 percent as women and three percent as unknown.

Reflecting on his work over the past 20 years, he noted that the average age of those who died in the desert was between 30 and 33 years old. These people were robbed of their lives while those present still had the opportunity to live. It is something, he told the crowd, that he never wants to forget.

‘For my migrant sisters and brothers’

The program in front of the altar included speeches by several people and music. The song “La Llorona” played in the background.

One of the most moving parts was the roll call of deceased migrants; one by one, the names were read aloud, followed by the response from the participants: “¡Presente!”

Among the migrants mentioned was the name of Aguida Vásquez, a 24-year-old pregnant woman from Guatemala, who lost her life earlier this year in the Sonoita, Arizona area, east of Nogales.

García mentioned that even though they are unknown and their families don't know where they are, they are remembered there.

“For every person we name today, there is a family left behind with an enormous loss and tragedy. Let us think of those families and send them strength, and let us commit to continue fighting so that these policies change and we don't have to keep reading these names of people who have died tragically every year,” said one of the attendees at the microphone.

Afterward, the attendees recited a prayer for migrants simultaneously. Each person present was given a sheet with the prayer on it.

“Creator, full of love and mercy, I want to ask you for my migrant sisters and brothers. Have mercy on them and protect them, for they suffer mistreatment and humiliation on their journey, are labeled by most as dangerous, and are marginalized for being foreigners,” part of the prayer read.

The folk music group Tlen-Huicani, from the state of Veracruz, Mexico, provided entertainment to close the event. Among other songs, they played “La Bruja,” a traditional Veracruz song.

Thus, between memory and resistance, Tucson once again said “¡Presente!” for those who remained in the desert, lighting a candle for each life that must not be forgotten.

César Barrón is an independent reporter covering the transnational communities of Ambos Nogales. He has over 20 years of experience covering the Sonoran communities.