Luisa Navarro, founder of the blog-turned-retailer Mexico In My Pocket, shares why she builds an ofrenda inside of her store each year.
It’s mid-October, and the air is as warm as the paper marigold flowers on display outside of Mexico In My Pocket. Inside the shop, owner Luisa Navarro wears a checked dress the same color as the marigolds – real ones – that frame her family altar.
Since 2022, Navarro, who is Mexican-American, has constructed an ofrenda inside of her 415 Court Street store in honor of her family members who have passed on. “No matter how busy I get or how stressful life can be, I need to set that time aside once a year to honor my loved ones who have died,” she said, referring to the Mexican Día de Muertos tradition.
In the past, she “didn’t feel comfortable” sharing her personal altar with customers, and instead, she would frame photos of famous actors and painters. One year, she built an altar honoring Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Things changed in 2022, when Navarro’s blog-turned-retailer almost went out of business, just one year after opening its Carroll Gardens shop.
“I was ill-advised financially, I scaled too quickly,” Navarro said. “We had a warehouse and things got out of hand.” Stressed and concerned for her business, Navarro posted on social media asking followers and customers to bring her marigolds with which to build an in-store family altar. The response surpassed Navarro's expectations.
“One woman brought me bunches of marigolds from her garden,” Navarro said. “My community really came through.”
This year, Navarro’s ofrenda was “the biggest one I've ever made,” she said. Spanning five tiers, it incorporated traditional elements such as candles, marigolds, papel picado and white linens, as well as photos of and personal items from deceased family members. Sprinkled throughout are picture frames, candle holders and other items Navarro sells in-store. She has been sharing the basics of how to build an ofrenda on social media – and next year, she’ll release a book on the larger Día de Muertos holiday.
“The reason I wrote the book was a lot of people asked us if we were celebrating Satan or death. I was like, we need a book in the United States immediately,” Navarro said. "The typical thing is people think [Día de Muertos] is Mexican Halloween, which it absolutely is not.”
Since opening her store, Navarro has connected with nearly two dozen Mexican families in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood. And beyond communing with those who share her culture, Navarro sees a larger opportunity to reach those who might not yet be familiar with it – or who hold misconceptions about it.
“European-style stores are usually treated as fancy and sophisticated,” she said. “Mexican culture, arts and crafts are fancy, sophisticated, beautiful, [though they're] typically shown as kitschy and cheap."
“I feel really proud to have the store here, because it's not the easiest place,” she continued. “I think I would do way better in California or Texas, but it’s not about that for me. It’s about making a difference in a community.”
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