SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio resident Brenda Pacheco sets up an altar or ofrenda in the Mission San Jose granary to honor her ancestors every year.
“It’s an opportunity for me to tell my story, my family’s story, to the entire world when they come by and visit the mission,” said Pacheco.
She visited Mission San Jose on Tuesday morning and reflected on living at the site.
“This was my home. That property was my home. My grandparents on the Guerrero side had lived here for many years prior to that. They are all members of the descendants of the first families of San Antonio,” Pacheco said.
Every year, Pacheco and other San Antonio families descended from the original mission residents create an altar celebrating the lives of their loved ones for Dia de Los Muertos.
“Today, I’m honoring my great grandparents, Felice and Antonia Romero — also my grandmother, Selia Romero Escobar. They are actual descendants of San Jose Mission. For at least 300 years,” Pacheco said.
The altars are filled with items ranging from marigolds to sugar skulls, and all have symbolic meanings.
“For my great grandfather, because he was a vaquero, a real vaquero, I included a barbed wire because he was out on the range and had barbed wire — some hay, of course,” Pacheco said.
The community is invited to visit and view the mission community’s altars that tell stories that go back centuries.
Visitors can see the altars daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for free. The display will be up until Nov. 2, 2023.