Daisy Garcia Montoya 
Education Reporter

Families decorated white crosses at Indian Mound Park (Gladstone & Belmont Blvds) on Saturday,  Nov. 1, as they honor loved ones who lost their lives due to violence as part of a Dia de Muertos display. 

Mattie Rhodes Center (MRC) — a nonprofit organization located in  Northeast that focuses on addressing community’s needs — leads this effort and organizes the display every year during Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead. This tradition, observed primarily among Mexicans and Latinos, sees families and friends gather on November 1-2nd to remember loved ones with altars and ofrendas, as they welcome them back to Earth for a brief period. 

This temporary memorial features white crosses with names of individuals who lost their life to violence, many male and under the age of 25. To honor and remember them, family members and volunteers decorate the crosses with pictures, cempasuchil flowers, colorful papel picado (decorative cut paper), ofrendas and altars as part of these traditional festivities.  

Director of Public Safety Molly Manske and leader of MRC’s Community Outreach team, says that out of the 37 crosses displayed, many represent families that MRC directly helped when their loved one was killed. 

“We know that with every one person killed by violence, 50-100 people are directly impacted by the tragedy. Those are the children in our schools, their parents in our churches, and their loved ones in our businesses,” Manske said. “At Mattie Rhodes Center, we aim to serve families and communities to work towards a safer and healthier community for all.” 

At the forefront lies a cross in memory of Aaron Amparon, a 15-year-old boy who was an active participant in MRC’s programs since the age of 12, killed a block away from his home. Although Amparon’s family received justice for his homicide this year, many of the other families represented have open cases or are currently going through the justice system for their loved ones. 

“Grief does not have a timeline. This is our way of supporting our families and showing them that we honor their legacy,” Manske said.

Liliana Rodriguez, the psychologist who helps moderate and lead Por Siempre en mi Corazon (Always in My Heart), a grief group for women who have experienced loss with a focus on mothers who have lost a child, says that these traditions help the families in their grief. 

“When they participate in these traditions, it is very painful for them but at the same time as they bring flowers, relive the situation, it heals them because in order to manage grief, you can not avoid it or skip through it but you must feel it. As you deal with grief, you will learn to feel and live with it,” Rodriguez said. 

As for the community impact, Rodriguez hopes that the display shows the community the realities of violence and help raise awareness to communicate emotions and support each other during hard times. 

Emma Delgado, mother of Anthony Torres, says that participating in this year’s event for the first time has been a significant step in her healing journey and allows her to check-in with her grief.

“When one goes through these situations, you think you’re the only one living through this experience so being at events like this opens up your mind to realize that you’re not the only one, and that there are many people around you going through the same situation in dealing with the consequences of violence,” Delgado said. 

Although it’s been four years since her son Anthony passed, Delgado says that this event allows her to share his story and remember his legacy, which she says has allowed her to grow as a person and mother. Anthony was a very shy, respectful and intelligent person, his mother said. 

“Getting involved with the community, in every event, grief group, you find understanding and support. There’s times that we lock ourselves away in our grief and don’t know that this help is out there but it is good to seek it,” Delgado said. 

For Jessica Martinez, mother of Mihail Martinez, this event allows her to feel integrated into the larger community at large. 

“I am thankful that they gave us the opportunity to showcase our Mexican traditions and make us feel that they take us Hispanics into consideration because there are times we feel ignored and this makes us feel seen and heard,” Martinez said. “Sometimes it is that very reason why we feel like we can’t speak up and to be here and see this, it reminds us that we can and to support each other and remain united.” 

Martinez says that many of the victims were young men and that she does not want to come next year and find that there are more crosses, signaling that violence continues and instead hopes that violence can stop. 

Delgado and Martinez are both active participants of the grief group Por Siempre en Mi Corazon and encourage others to join, saying that although the pain continues, the strategies and tools provided allow them to acknowledge their grief and work through it. 

The group meets on Saturdays from 10-12pm at Revolucion Educativa (2301 Lexington Ave).

“As long as they (MRC) hold this event, I will continue to participate. It makes me happy and sad but I get to honor my son, family and friends come to visit and I can share about how he was a very joyous and mischievous kid but I like being able to share his story,” Martinez said.

With the display honoring the legacy of victims of violence, MRC hopes to inspire unity, action and collective commitment to end the violence that led to these tragedies. 

“Honoring the lives of those lost to community violence is essential to healing, remembrance and change. By keeping their memories alive, we affirm that their lives mattered and that their stories will not be forgotten,” Manske said. “Each name and photo placed on the crosses represent more than a tragedy, they symbolize hope, love and the ongoing fight for safer, stronger communities.” 

This display will be up until November 11th at both Indian Mound Park and on the Westside next to Mattie Rhodes Cultural Center (1701 Jarboe St. Kansas City, Missouri, 64108). In addition to the cross display, Mattie Rhodes Center will be hosting their annual Day of the Dead event and Calaca Parade on Friday, November 7th from 5-10 p.m. at the Mattie Rhodes Cultural Center. Families who participated in the honorary cemeteries are encouraged to walk in the parade and honor loved ones there as well.

 For more information, visit @mattierhodescenter on social medias or www.mattierhodes.org