Page 3
SunDay-MonDay, noVeMBer 3-4, 2013
The Avis
Flowers of the Feast
SHAUNA TUCKER
ST.CROIX — The Mexican tra-
dition Dias de los Muertos, also
known as Day of the Dead, was
recognized Saturday at the St.
George Village Botanical Garden,
as part of the holiday in Mexico
and other Hispanic nations.
Presenter and SGVBG Director
David Hamada, who is of Mexi-
can descent, shared the impor-
tance of the holiday with an audi-
ence of approximately 20 people to
dispel myths associated with the
religious celebration.
“People tend to focus on the
skulls but I believe that it is a flo-
ral tradition,” Hamada said. “Plants
play an important role in culture
and this is why my presentation is
called Flowers of the Feast.”
He then went into a detailed
slide show that depicted skele-
tons, food and flowers that were
used to decorate the altar, one of
the most significant aspects of
Dias de los Muertos.
“Mexican-Americans tend to roll
Dias de los Muertos into Hal-
loween,” Hamada said. “This
makes the tradition seem scary
rather than celebratory.”
Hamada also shared a brief his-
tory of Day of the Dead, explaining
that a melting pot of cultures con-
tributed to the celebration of today.
“Day of the Dead is a hybrid of
the beliefs of the European mis-
sionaries and native Indians,” he
said.
Hamada explained that histor-
ically, the native Indians would
bury their dead with useful items
for a four-year trial, which the
dead would endure after they had
passed. The Indians believed war-
riors and women who died in
childbirth were the only ones pri-
marily sent to the highest celestial.
An altar would be made for those
who died under other circum-
stances and honored every year
on Dias de los Muertos.
According to Hamada, the altar
was constructed in tiers and con-
sisted of a religious figure such
as God or the Virgin Mary at the
top, then remnants or items
belonging to the deceased and
finally the offerings at the bottom.
During his presentation, Hama-
da displayed an altar constructed
to honor his deceased grand-
mother. It included offerings of
fruit and sweet items that she
enjoyed during her lifetime.
“The altar would include offer-
ings that would invite the spirit to
come and spend time with you,”
he said, adding that flowers are
important to the altar, providing
smells and colors to guide the
spirits.
The offering of food and water
provide essence to the spirits,
Hamada said, and then the fam-
ily and friends share the food that
was offered to celebrate.
The afternoon of Dias de los
Muertos is used to clean and dec-
orate the graves of the loved ones.
“Here marigolds are extremely
important,” Hamada said, empha-
sizing the smell and color that
the flower adds to the celebra-
tion.
Additionally, sweets rich in
sugar and paper crafts all play a
cultural role in Dias de los Muer-
tos, according to Hamada.
Audience 
members 
were
thrilled with the presentation and
excited to learn something new.
“It was very educational and
colorful,” Jacqueline Sickinger
said. “It gives you a different per-
spective of honoring the dead.”
Sickinger shared her experi-
ence with similar traditions in
her travels to Egypt.
“In Egypt, they too bury the
dead with personal items and
honor them,” she said.
Her husband and president of
the board of governors for the
garden, Larry Sickinger, thought
it was interesting and had no idea
that the skeletons were so signif-
icant and traditional.
According to Hamada, skeletal
figures play a big role in the cel-
ebrations and should not be
viewed as morbid but as a tran-
sitory symbol.
Native Mexican Elena Leroux
said the day’s presentation was
accurate and a reinforcement of
what she grew up with.
“Every region of Mexico has
their own variations of Day of the
Dead with traditional food, but
with their own ingredients and
spices,” she said.
Leroux also said the day is cel-
ebratory but can be emotional,
adding that the tradition itself is
“very Catholic.”
Hamada also mentioned in his
presentation that missionaries
from Europe saw Day of the Dead
as resembling All Saints Day and
All Souls Day, both of which are
rooted in Catholic traditions.
Shauna Tucker
David Hamada describes an altar built to guide his grandmother during the Flowers of the Feast presentation at the
St. George Village Botanical Garden on Saturday in recognition of Dias de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead.
Christensen, EDA delegation participate in investment summit
SHAUNA TUCKER
ST. CROIX — A delegation
from the Virgin Islands Eco-
nomic Development Authority
and Delegate to Congress Donna
Christensen recently attended
the launching of President
Barack Obama’s Select USA ini-
tiative on Oct. 31, aimed at
bringing jobs and investment
from around the world to the
United States, according to an
EDA statement.
Christensen attended the
event to meet investors and busi-
ness leaders, and to greet the
Virgin Islands delegation from
the EDA.
“It was important to be there
as President Obama pushed for
more jobs to come to our coun-
try and it was great to support
the Virgin Islands government’s
push to be a part of this impor-
tant initiative for the future of
the country and our islands,”
Christensen said.
The event offered the EDA del-
egation an opportunity to meet
and interact with international
and domestic investors and
high-level corporate business
executives to promote the invest-
ment opportunities available
under EDA’s tax incentive pro-
grams.
EDA Chief Executive Officer
Percival Clouden was expected to
seek additional financial sup-
port for the various lending pro-
grams within the Government
Development Bank from high-
level senior White House offi-
cials who were expected to be
in attendance, according to the
statement. 
“We are delighted that VIEDA
is given the opportunity to par-
ticipate in such as exciting sum-
mit to discuss investment oppor-
tunities for the territory with
potential and domestic and
international investors,” Clouden
said.
As a sponsor of the luncheon
event through The Pont Group,
the EDA had the opportunity to
make a more tailored pitch to
global investors, according to the
statement.
This was a major promotional
opportunity for the territory, as
more than 1,000 participants
were expected to include 300
companies and professional ser-
vices organizations and 700 rep-
resentatives from economic devel-
opment agencies, the EDA
stated.
The Select USA 2013 Invest-
ment Summit is part of a U.S.
government-wide initiative to
promote direct investment in the
United States, intended to con-
nect state, territorial and local
economic development organi-
zations. It is a program within
the U.S. Department of Com-
merce’s International Trade
Administration.
Select USA provides information
assistance to the global investment
community that serves as an
advice board for investors, and
advocates for U.S. cities, states
and regions competing for global
investment. Its mission is to pri-
oritize foreign investment that cre-
ates jobs, be a single point of con-
tact for investors looking to bring
jobs and production to the U.S.,
and to coordinate support for states
and localities to attract investment,
according to the statement.
Botanical Garden celebrates Dias de los Muertos