Wednesday, October 30

The queen of altars also grows in California

Traveling along one of the roads in Ventura County, I saw on one side a field covered in colorful orange. I immediately stopped, got out of the car, walked under the intense rays of the sun and began to smell a delicious aroma of “marigolds.”

Indeed, the native flower from Mexico arrived in the Californian fields, chasing immigrants who found it necessary to emigrate north.

The Flower of the Dead, as it is commonly known, is an icon of Mexican culture to say goodbye and honor our loved ones who have transcended.

Many of the countrymen cannot let go of their traditions in a modern country that cares more about the future than about what enriches us culturally.

But immigrants do not forget yesterday, nor their deceased loved ones. They want to continue remembering them despite the distance and the walls, with the same marigolds as their ancestors did.

The Rendón family is one of those responsible for the marigold flower growing in California.
Credit: Nora Estrada | Courtesy

La Flor de Muertos is further proof that immigrants do not come to the north alone; they arrive loaded with traditions, food, music and flowers.

According to pre-Hispanic culture, the Flower of the Dead is of great tradition and meaning, it has a beautiful and intense color and guides souls to paradise with an exquisite smell, among other special characteristics, according to pre-Hispanic culture.

Now thanks to the risky decision of Mexican producers, such as Silviano Rendón, the Flor de Muertos is already part of the United States to decorate the increasingly popular public and home altars every November 1 and 2.

The date is approaching, and while the majority choose to celebrate Halloween a few days before, Mexican immigrants and their descendants choose to continue their traditions.

While many are looking for everything necessary to build an altar to honor the loved ones who came before them, siblings Lizbeth and Luis leave accounting books and university classrooms aside to join the field work so that the flowers arrive fresh. into the hands of customers.

But not only the brothers join in the hard work of the fields, we also talked with their mother, Mrs. Francisca, who along with her children cut, arranged and carried the bulky bundles of flowers already stacked to be distributed.

Against the light, due to the sun, we managed to talk with Elizeth, Luis and Francisca, who were getting ready to work on the ranch, one of the two owned by their father, Oaxacan Silvano Rendón, in Ventura County.

Luis and his mother Francisca show two bouquets of flowers.
Credit: Nora Estrada | Courtesy

The ranch I arrived at by chance has an area of ​​30 hectares where marigold flowers and rooster’s crests, among others, exclusive to the season, are grown.

Behind the flowers there is great production and many field workers leave “the fat drop” on the fertile land of California, but it is worth the effort, says Elizeth, 22 years old and a recent business administration graduate. Now she aspires to be part of the administrative team of her father’s ranches along with her brothers, also professionals in the field.

“It is an honor to be able to plant marigolds in California. My dad started planting the flower when he saw the need. Customers asked for it for the Dia de los Muertos season,” said Elizeth, while she cut the flower and arranged it in small piles in one of the furrows of the field.

He added that although sometimes the work is hard, it is all worth it to see the happy faces of the clients receive the orange, well-formed flower.

“I join this work in the seasons when labor is most required,” he explains. “I arrived at 7:30 in the morning and I leave at 3:30 in the afternoon. “Sometimes it is hard because the bugs are annoying and the heat is usually very strong, but we are used to it.”

Despite being a recent college graduate, the young woman is not ashamed to do fishing work on her father’s ranches because it strengthens her as a person.

“All my brothers and I support this way. We started in a small place and little by little my dad has grown the business to larger places,” Ellizeth said. “He already has two ranches, this one and another in Oxnard where he grows cilantro, parsley and other herbs and vegetables.”

Turning to see the flowering field, Elizeth explained that they began planting marigolds at the beginning of August.

“It takes two months to develop, just for this season.”

A few steps away from Elizeth was her brother Luis, a little self-conscious at first, but when he gained confidence, he even agreed to take off his hood and hat so he could see her eyes.

The young man said that the flowers are distributed in some stores in Los Angeles, Oxnard, San Francisco and several other cities and states such as Washington.

“The flower goes to different regions and the distribution is growing more and more,” he explains. “People like cempasuchil and are starting to ask for it more and more. The flower moves very well.”

After visiting several sites that are dedicated to planting the Flor de Muertos, it can be said that Rendon Flower Growers harvested one of the most lush marigold flowers in the region.