Day of the Dead brings peace and new connections for East Vancouver woman

For Mexicans around the world, Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated with live music, plenty of food and parades.

But COVID-19 has taken awaythose celebrations this year for East Vancouver resident and Mexico native Yazmin Vasquez, who lost both her grandparents earlier this year to the virus.

Vasquez, determined to keep her favourite Mexican tradition alive, spent days buildingan ofrenda, or altar,honouring herloved ones in her co-op's common room: a ritualshe sayshelped her grieve her grandparents and bring her closer to her neighbours.

"It's been therapeutic for me, building this," said Vasquez. "Every element, every object, every picture for me, is part of that path, that journey of being at ease with what's happening."

Vasquez's grandparents were living in the state of Chiapas in Mexico when they died. More than 90,000 people in Mexico have died of COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization.

Vasquez said she hadn't built an ofrenda since moving to Canada almost six years ago. But this year, after hearing stories of families around the world losing their loved ones to COVID-19, she felt it was important to build one to remember her own and provide space for others to do the same.

"Growing up in Mexico ... we're raised seeing death in a different way," she said. "We embrace life and we know with life comes death. It's a beautiful way of looking at it."

She said after invitingneighbours in her building to participate, she was able to meet new people,hear their stories and share in the memories of their loved ones.

"When I was there and they happened to come drop off their pictures, they would share who they were and what they died of," she said."I got to know my neighbours a little bit more and that to me was so meaningful."

Vasquez hopes the tradition will continue in her building and that she will eventually beable to build it with more people.

"Growing up in Mexico, this is the day I look forward to the most," she said. "The tradition ... is not dying, We're still embracing it."