Why marigolds, or cempasúchil, are the iconic flower of Día de los Muertos

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This Día de los Muertos altar on display at a public shrine in Oaxaca, Mexico, shows several traditional ofrendas, including cempasúchil — the Aztec name of the marigold flower native to Mexico.

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«An altar just isn’t complete without them. And if you believe what the Aztecs believed, then your ancestors need the scent to find their way back to you,» she said. She’ll be adding a couple dozen flowers to a personal family altar for her father and sister, who are interred at the cemetery.

«Our cempasúchil display will be small by comparison,» she said, noting that some of the larger altars can include thick, carefully woven garlands of the flowers measuring 50 feet or more, draped over elaborate altar structures.

«I’m sure some will have thousands of flowers and when you walk up to them, Boom! The smell will just hit you in the face,» Jimenez said, laughing.

«You either love it or hate it because it’s like nothing else. Lucky for me, I love it.»

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This image depicts how Día de los Muertos is observed and celebrated. Deceased individuals are remembered with the placement of flowers and candles at their cemeteries.

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Bob Mellano, a vice president of Mellano & Co., one of California’s largest flower farms, says the company has greatly expanded its production and harvest of marigolds due to growing demand in recent years.

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«I’m not sure where it started but maybe there’s a correlation to the Disney movie from a few years ago,» he speculated, referring to Disney Pixar’s 2017 Coco. The animated film, set in Mexico during the country’s Día de los Muertos, was an international box office smash and introduced audiences around the world to the holiday and its customs.

«That could be why you see marigolds everywhere now. Before they were more a specialty item and you’d only see them for a short time,» Mellano said. As soon as Oct. 1 rolls around, he said, «they’re a must have for wholesalers, flower shops and even grocery stores.»

Mellano said it’s not unlike the explosion in popularity of the poinsettia during Christmas. «If you go back 50 years and see where that poinsettia consumption was, it was nothing compared to what the poinsettia consumption is now,» he said.

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Andi Xoch, founder and owner of Latinx With Plants in East Los Angeles, said the growing popularity of the holiday has made it «easier for young Latinx or brown people who are first or second generation to accept their heritage and be and be proud.»

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People visit a community altar decorated with marigolds at Grand Park in Los Angeles. Mother and daughter Chicana artists Ofelia and Rosanna Esparza have overseen the design of the altar at Grand Park since 2013. It’s one of 11 huge altars done in a collaboration between Grand Park and Self Help Graphics, an organization highlighting Chicano and Latino artists and social justice.

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«But that tradition doesn’t belong to them no matter how cool or commercialized it gets. And once it becomes a trend it’s no longer being appreciated or respected,» Xoch said.

But flowers, especially ones resembling the golden hues of sunshine, are always appropriate.

«They are beautiful way to remember someone who’s gone and they’re cheerful, so it adds that element of beauty in death, too,» Xoch said.