Oriole Park Coco House and Pilsen Museum Mark Day of the Dead

Cesar Benavides has turned his Oriole Park house on Gregory Street into a Día de los Muertos display for the second year, with lights drawn from Disney's Coco and a family ofrenda set up for visitors. Crowds have come to see the lights and the altar. "Years ago, the ofrenda was more of just Mexican culture, but like, we're seeing people from all backgrounds, asking questions," Benavides said.

Benavides said the tradition centers on remembrance and reflection. "It's a lot about legacy. It's a lot about just life and death," he said. He said the family has worked to connect the display to the meaning behind the film: "We've been really tying it altogether to the culture that it brings and the story the movie 'Coco' really tells."

Nine-year-old Jackson Natale visited the display with his family. "I just like the details, and like, the skeletons as the movie," Jackson said. His mother, Kelly Natale, said the display goes further than its appearance. "It's a great tribute to family members and keeping their memories alive," she said.

In Pilsen, the National Museum of Mexican Art opened its Día de los Muertos exhibit, now in its 40th year. Kaelyn Andrade, a gallery educator at the museum, said attendance includes more people from outside the Mexican community. "Death is universal. It's something that we all experience," Andrade said. She said many communities treat death as a journey rather than a stop: "Many of the communities believe that when a person dies that death is not an end, but it was a journey. It was a continuance."

The museum's exhibit honors people who have died in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement in the United States, including Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, an immigration officer shot and killed last year in Franklin Park. Andrade said the enforcement continues to affect the community: "It's still happening. It's still affecting the community. If anything, it's created more strength."

The Little Village Chamber of Commerce started its own Día de los Muertos event after last year's Operation Midway Blitz. The two-day celebration runs this weekend and is intended to support more than 50 restaurants and businesses in Little Village. "We die as a community the day we all give up. So, this is a thing for all of us to come together, and realize that together, we're stronger," said Alfredo Palafox of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.

The Benavides family is preparing for Halloween and expects trick-or-treaters at the Coco House on Gregory Street. Visitors are asked to bring an umbrella or a poncho.