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Salma Hayek celebrated Dia de Muertos or “Day of the Dead” and showed the world her beautiful altar on Tuesday, November 2nd. This is how you do it!
The multi-day Mexican holiday aims to pray for and to remember friends and family members who have passed away. Traditionally, November 1st honors deceased children and November 2nd honors deceased adults. It is commonly portrayed as a day of celebration rather than mourning and follows the same traditions every year. Traditions include building home altars called “ofrendas” which include photos of friends, and family that have died.
The Mexican actress shared a series of photos on Instagram showcasing her stunning altar. She captioned the photos, “Feliz Día de los Muertos! Happy Day of the Dead! #diadelosmuertos #dayofthedead.”
Hayek posed in front of her altar in a black and red striped dress, and red lipstick. She looked peaceful and proud of her culture’s holiday as she held a white candle. There is a lot of symbolism in Dia de los Muertos traditions and everything that goes on an altar has a reason. Candles are lit to welcome the spirits back to their altars and white signifies renewal and hope. Hayeks altar also included traditional “Marigolds” or “cempasúchitl,” yellow-orange flowers that symbolize death. It’s believed that their strong fragrance helps lead the dead back to their altars.
Hayek’s altar was was large and colorful with photos of her ancestors, small trinkets, plants, and chili peppers lights. She also left traditional Día de Los Muertos foods like pan de Muerto. Hayek included photos of the artist and Mexican icon, Frida Kahlo. An ode to the Biopic “Frida” she starred in in 2002.
Along with photos of her loved ones, Hayek included a large collage filled with pictures of her past pets. The pets came in all shapes, sizes, and species and included dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits.
Eva Mendes shared some love and commented, “Beautiful. Just beautiful. Besos Reina ❤️.” Hayek‘s fans thanked her for sharing the photos and sharing her culture. One commented, “Thank you for sharing this very special culture with us Salma te amo, Feliz Día de los Muertos 💕”
One fan attempted to call Hayek out while at the same time leaving a friendly comment. She wrote, “It makes me really happy to see you embrace your own culture. I remember when I was a little girl I looked up to you so much, and then I saw you get so upset when you went to Mexico & you were so rude towards people who just wanted to show you love. As an American with Mexican roots, it shattered me. Thank you for changing.”
However, Hayek’s loyal fans stood up for the actress and responded to the original poster defending her. One responded, “I can’t say anything about what you saw however what I read about her throughout the years she’s always stated she was happy about her heritage. I remember an article that went out one year where translation was lost. Salma stated “I have never denied my background or my culture,“ she said. “I have taught my child to embrace her Mexican heritage, to love my first language, Spanish, to learn about Mexican history, music, folk art, food, and even the Mexican candy I grew up with. I have always been an active part of my community. I have tried my whole life to represent my Mexican roots with honor and pride. It saddens me when my words are lost in translation and taken out of context to hurt the people of Mexico, whom I love.”
Feliz Dia de los muertos!