The symbols of Día de los Muertos dotted some downtown Dallas streets on Saturday.
The annual Day of the Dead festival in front of city hall brings the heritage and traditions of Latin America to North Texas with food, music, art, and lots of costumes.
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Jose Oviedo's costume was one of many that gained fans, with other attendees asking to take pictures with him.
“It feels wonderful. I just want to let people to costume like me, to celebrate this festival like I do," he said.
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While organizers say the festival and parade are fun and educational, they're also honoring the heart of the holiday: Remembering loved ones.
“There is not a lot of traditions that celebrate people that already passed away," Oviedo said.
Juliana Ibarra and her mother were there to honor her grandfather and uncle.
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“We felt that it was very meaningful, just losing those two men, it felt like okay, we need to kind of just see what this is about," she said.
Ibarra said her family has been in Texas for generations, and they never really celebrated Día de los Muertos.
“It feels like there was a part of us that was missing that we found here that we didn’t know about," she said. "Even when we were a mile out, and we could see everybody, I think our hearts just kind of welled with emotion, and we were just really excited about it.”
Ibarra said although it was her first year, she wanted to make coming out to the festival a family tradition.
“It feels very overwhelming, but in a good way. It feels very-- kind of like a sense of pride that we didn’t really know that we had, and it was just kind of tucked away in our hearts," she said.
Andrea Summers and her family had an extra reason to come out this year.
“We honor my nana, and my father passed away in March, so we’re here for that, as well," Summers said.
She said she worked on her costume for weeks this year and planned to come out, rain or shine, for her father.
“We put more effort into like, the costumes, the makeup, everything, specifically because of my Papa passing away," said Summers' daughter, Athena. "He was always joyful, he was supportive, he was a very kind person, so we’re trying our best to celebrate him as much as we can.”
Summers said she'd be remembering her father through even the final float of the festival.
“I will be thinking about him and the life that he led," she said. ”Every year, I would take photos of the parade and send them to him.”