For many children, Halloween is all about spooks and scares, tricks or treats, but All Hallows Eve is also the precursor to the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos, the colorful Latino holiday that helps the living remember and reconnect with those who've passed on. A great, meaningful way to connect with the holiday is to visit the Mission Cultural Center's annual exhibition of Day of the Dead altars.Visitors young and old will be drawn in by Alfonso Ochoa's altar - and not just for the candies and mole that are part of his tribute to his mother. Ochoa, a mainstay at the Mission Cultural Center, says he has created an altar every year for 20 years. A native of Chihuahua, he calls himself a traditionalist, noting that his altar has traditional elements - like an arch decorated with flowers and delicate banderitas made of papel picado, tissue paper cut into elaborate designs.
