El Ponce marks 10 years with vibrant Día de Muertos ofrenda

I want to talk about a big holiday that's right here, and we're not talking about Halloween. We're talking about Dia de los Muertos. It is the last day, and we have Fox 5's own Chris Rosenthal out in the field right now. Now, Rosie, I think you're over on El Ponce. Talk to us about what's going on down there. Yeah, absolutely, Dia de los Muertos, it is the day of the dead, and actually today is the last day of Dia de los Muertos, a time when we try to connect with those that have passed, those spirits, those souls, and those loved ones that we have, and I am at El Paz where they have been celebrating here, you can see they have. The altar here to those that have passed, really a beautiful display here at this restaurant. They've been doing this for about nine years here, celebrating their 10-year anniversary, in fact. And I've got Rosa here. She is the owner. And tell me a little bit about this holiday for those who may not know. Yeah, so it's a really special way to remember those that have passed and welcome them back to spend a little time with us once a year, let them know they're remembered, and celebrate their life. Yeah, and this is This is lots of people's lives here, people who have passed. We have, of course, we have Dolly Parton up here, and I saw Prince down here, and some of these folks here, too, are some local people as well, huh? Correct, yeah. So we invite the community to add to this altar every year. We will keep the pictures and put them up again. Some people bring their pets. We've lost people in our hospitality community so we definitely recognize those people that have left us and just try to remember their legacy every year. Hopefully those people may be watching down on us and having a little something to eat. We have some items here as well, some sort of traditional things here that people have on this holiday. So we have pan de muerto, which is a traditional sweet, pan dulce, which is usually part of the celebration of dia de muerto. So you can find a lot of great sources for pan dulce on Beaufort Highway, support those small bakers. Thank you very much. And then we do drink specials, so we've got what we're calling a naked and infamous pretty much. Naked and Famous, but we we renamed some cocktails and do some specials every year around this time. It's so it's so colorful here how you have it set up and of course the marigolds are a very big part of this as well. They are so the marigolds are traditional to they're very fragrant if you have ever smelled them you know they have a very distinct smell so that is to welcome the spirits back and guide them to our world. We have a farm called Little Fox Farm that grows those for us every year We also, the drink garnish that you saw is from Woodland Gardens, so at Freedom Farmers Market, we're there every Saturday, and every chance we get to support our local farmers, we do, and so they grow these marigolds for us every year. And this is the last day of it. It's not over yet. You guys have some more events tonight, huh? Yeah, we'll be doing Karaoke Legends Edition Orlando, so that we can welcome those who gave us the gift of song that have passed. Maybe some Dolly Parton over here. I suspect definitely Dolly Parton, some Prince maybe, some Aretha Franklin, some... There's Prince right there, by the way. So, yeah, so last day, Dia de los Muertos again. Thank you again. If you've ever heard of it, really, really important Mexican holiday, Latin American holiday, and a beautiful way to celebrate it here at El Ponce. So back to you, Rob. So Rosie, I got a question here. Is this just for, it's clearly not for people as relatives. It's for anyone and anyone who has passed on, including, like you said, Dolly Parton. I see Prince there. This is really for anybody to celebrate, anyone who's moved on from this world. Absolutely. I mean, the holiday really is for anybody to celebrate and to honor your loved ones or friends or family, people who have passed, and to remember them and, you know, have a connection with them on these days of Dia de los Muertos. Well, I have to say, the display is so beautiful. I remember learning about this in grade school. It's so cool to see those decorative skulls, and like you said, the marigolds, absolutely gorgeous out there, and a really special way to remember, again, those who have moved on from this world. We have a connection to them, so really exciting. It's going to be the last day of that tonight. Chris, thank you so much for that.