The Matas never celebrated Day of the Dead before; this year they built an altar at the grave of 10-year-old Tess, surrounded by family. For Thanksgiving and Christmas, they broke their traditions.
On a gray and cloudy afternoon on Nov. 1, the start of Día de los Muertos, four men carry an altar for 19 children and two teachers slain in the massacre at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School. As they walk from the state Capitol, dozens of friends, relatives and supporters, as well as most of the victims’ parents, follow behind.
The crowd is quiet as they march. Photojournalists click their digital cameras. Passersby murmur to one another.
It’s a short walk to the Governor’s Mansion, where the men set down the altar in front of a black steel fence that circles the mansion. The altar is adorned with marigolds and paper sugar skulls and candles surrounding a small Virgen de Guadalupe statue — and the photos of the 19 fourth graders and their two teachers whose absence brought the procession to Austin today.
Source: Broken hearts lead to broken traditions in Uvalde as Mata family cele…