In the opening of Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story, a young girl named Julieta peeks inside a box containing skeletons and the traditional Mexican decorative craft known as papel picado.
She asks her family if Abuelita is really coming home. “Yes!” her mother replies. “Our ancestors’ souls will visit us on Día de Muertos.”
Excited by the plan to honor her late grandmother, Julieta sets out on a personal quest to find a special gift to offer on the traditional Mexican holiday. It’s important for her to find a gift that would make Abuelita smile, and demonstrate how much she is missed.
In Mariana Ríos Ramírez’s new picture book (out now from Knopf Books for Young Readers), the Mexican author brings readers a beautiful and open-hearted story about the deep and never-ending love between a child and her grandmother. As Julieta struggles to find the best gift, she recalls memories she shared with Abuelita: of her grandmother’s hands lacing flowers into crowns, for example. Illustrations by Mexican award-winning illustrator Sara Palacios add tremendous warmth to a book that is mostly joyful because it’s about love and connection between generations.
And when Julieta finds the special gift, she learns that it’s much deeper than a tangible object. It’s what’s embedded within.
Ríos Ramírez recently spoke with Latinx in Publishing about the inspiration behind Abuelita’s Gift (also out in Spanish as El regalo de abuelita), her personal ties to Día de Muertos, and more.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Amaris Castillo (AC): Congratulations on Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story. I know you’re from Mexico and now live in the U.S. Growing up in Mexico, what was your relationship to Día de Muertos?
Mariana Ríos Ramírez (MRR): I grew up in Mexico, and Día de Muertos was always in my life, but not in my home. My parents are from Chihuahua, in the north of Mexico, and they didn’t grow up with the tradition because it is not as strong in the north as it is in the center or the south. We moved to Toluca when I was six, so in school we would set up ofrendas and exchange calaveritas with our classmates. There are also these poems called calaveritas that I remember we had to write as assignments. So it was in my life like that, but at home we didn’t set up ofrendas. I remember my parents would take me to this Día de Muertos market in Toluca called Feria del Alfeñique. It’s really famous during the month of October. I went there several times; you can buy skeletons, calaveritas, and candies. It’s very traditional and something to do about Día de Muertos.
When I came to live in the US, I wanted my kids to have a connection to Mexico and to our family. Right now we are the only ones here. (At the time) my son was five and my daughter was two – and suddenly there was this language barrier for them. They were missing home, missing family, so Día de Muertos allowed us to have an activity to do together. It was a celebration to set up the ofrenda, to talk about our ancestors, and to talk about our grandparents that my kids didn’t get to know. It became something that we started doing every year, that we all loved. Sharing about family is something that I really liked. I thought that the tradition was beautiful, and I wanted to share it with other children. So that’s why I ended up writing the book. It’s been an honor, truly, to be able to share that part of my culture through the book.
AC: Your story follows a young girl named Julieta as she struggles to find the best way to honor her late abuelita on the holiday. How did you create this character?
MRR: When I started drafting this story, at first it was nonfiction because it was more about explaining the elements of an ofrenda. My critique partners were like, ‘Well, it’s interesting, but there’s not a story.’ There was no character arc or anything. It was more like a description of the tradition. That made me think, so I changed it, which took me a while because I was learning how to write picture books at the time. This was one of my first drafts. So for a time, I couldn’t make it work. I put it aside. I wrote other things. And I came back to it because I really liked it.
My grandma was still alive when I was working on this story. And as I said, living here (in the US) and far away from my kids’ grandparents also had to do with it. Because those are the feelings of longing – of missing. And even though my grandmother was alive back then, the feelings of my children missing their grandparents in Mexico were there. Since I was writing a book for kids, I put those feelings in Julieta. And given that the book is about Día de Muertos, it made sense to come up with an Abuelita who was going to be the relative that Julieta missed, because I think that it’s the closest relative sometimes for children that are older.
Julieta has the name of my grandma. And a lot of parts of the story have to do with my own memories. Many characters have the names of my uncles or my grandfather. So there are a lot of things that are very personal in the book.
AC: One thing I loved about your story is how you teach readers about the holiday. For example, readers learn about the setting up of an ofrenda. As you wrote this story, what did you envision showing readers about the holiday?
MRR: As you mentioned, the readers can see how this family specifically is celebrating Día de Muertos. I also felt that it was going to be in the background, because the main plot is Julieta looking for the gift. But as we follow her, she is remembering. And that’s so crucial of Día de Muertos: remembering those moments that you had together with your loved ones. That’s actually how Julieta is trying to find the inspiration for the right gift, by going back to those moments of connection and love with Abuelita. I think Sara Palacios did a great job of showing that, because that’s what built their relationship. That’s how we get to understand that pain and that love that Julieta is feeling because of Abuelita’s death.
I wanted to show, but I didn’t explain, Why the ofrenda? What does it mean? How do we celebrate in Mexico? So I am showing it through the illustrations and as the story progresses, and that’s why it was very important for me to have an author’s note. It was crucial to have an opportunity to talk more in depth about the holiday, and how there’s not just one way to celebrate it. In different regions of Mexico, families do different things. Ofrendas look different from one state to another.
For me it was important to clarify that, and also to say that not everybody that lives in Mexico celebrates Día de Muertos. Not everybody celebrates in the same way. Not everybody believes that our loved ones come to visit for the night. So there are many things that are very specific, and I am so grateful that I was able to go into more detail in the author’s note. And also in the last spread, with the ofrenda diagram that tells the readers what the meaning is of everything that we put in the ofrenda. I think that’s just beautiful, knowing that everything has a meaning and a symbolism because this is a pre-Hispanic tradition that has lasted for generations to our times. I feel so grateful that I was able to do that without being too didactic as I told the story.
“....And that’s so crucial of Día de Muertos: remembering those moments that you had together with your loved ones”
AC: The heart of this story, to me, is about the deep connection we have with our loved ones, especially those who have passed on. And how it’s possible and a great thing to still honor them. What is the heart of the story to you, as the author?
MRR: For me, the heart is Julieta realizing that the love with Abuelita never ends. That she can be connected with her. And for readers, too. It’s important to me that we can all still feel that love and connection with our loved ones – even if they are not physically around us – if we hold onto the memories and if we hold onto sharing their stories. For that, we need to know them first. But if we can do that, then that’s the way that people really live on.
That’s why, for me, it was important to start celebrating Día de Muertos with my children, so that the people I love will live on through them in their stories.That they can talk about my mom or my grandma later with their kids, even if they didn’t get to know my grandma. I think that’s what’s beautiful about this celebration; to honor family and love and those connections, knowing that they never end. So I think it’s very hopeful.
AC: The book was illustrated by Sara Palacios, who is also Mexican and has illustrated many children’s books. What do you think her illustrations add to Julieta’s story?
MRR: Sara is super talented, and I am very grateful and I feel so lucky that she was part of the team. The fact that she’s Mexican made it easier. I remember at the beginning, I had a lot of illustration notes. When she came to the project, they were no longer needed because she understands the tradition.
I remember my editor told me that she considered Sara to be really good at showing sadness and at showing joy. And that’s exactly what this book is about. It’s about finding the joy in honoring those that have passed away and that left a hole in our hearts. And she does a great job. I don’t know about you, but I tear up looking at the illustrations. She is just great. I think that she added a lot of warmth, a lot of emotion, and even more heart to the story than what the text had already.
AC: There’s a scene in the book where you write that Julieta’s eyes teared up as another memory came to mind. And the image is of Julieta placing flowers on her abuelita’s casket. It was perhaps the most somber moment in the book, because the story really begins with a child's excitement to honor her abuela. Why was it important for you to include that scene?
MRR: Día de Muertos Muertos is a holiday that celebrates the lives of our ancestors, but of course we’re celebrating them because they are no longer here and have passed away. And when someone we love passes away, that hurts. For me, it was important for children to understand that Abuelita had died, because I am sure that many of them have gone through something like that. It is important that they know that death is part of life, and that it hurts and changes our lives. In this case, Julieta stopped dancing for a while when she lost Abuelita. But (I hoped) that children also understand that with time, if you hold on to those memories and those good times, then you’re going to be fine. You’re going to find a way to still feel that love around you.
So for me, it was important that they also know that death exists, that it’s real, that it’s part of life, and that it hurts. And that they can see the character go through that. I am sure that children that are going through hard moments like that can relate. But as you say, it’s something that is shown in the illustration. I think that the way in which the book presents it is somber, but you also didn’t need more words. The illustration is enough, and then showing on the other side how Julieta is feeling and how that impacted her life.
AC: What are you hoping readers take away from Abuelita’s Gift?
MRR: I hope that they get curious about their own family and ancestors. That they ask questions to their parents and grandparents about the past, so that they can better understand where they come from and can later tell their stories. What we discussed about how the love of family never ends, that’s something that I hope they can hold onto. For when the time comes, they might need it.
And finally, just like Julieta, I hope they learn that the best gifts truly come from the heart. When that happens, it is a gift not only for the person that is receiving it, in the case of Abuelita, but also for the giver, like Julieta – who found the gift that is for Abuelita and herself.
Mariana Ríos Ramírez is a Mexican author living in Anderson, South Carolina. She worked as a high school teacher and co-owned an online business before discovering her passion for writing. Mariana is a member of SCBWI, Storyteller Academy, Rate your Story, and Las Musas.
Sara Palacios was the recipient of the 2012 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Award for her work on Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match. A native of Mexico, Sara graduated from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City and went on to earn BFA and MFA degrees in illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She illustrates for companies in both the United States and Mexico.
Amaris Castillo is an award-winning journalist, writer, and the creator of Bodega Stories, a series featuring real stories from the corner store. Her writing has appeared in La Galería Magazine, Aster(ix) Journal, Spanglish Voces, PALABRITAS, Dominican Moms Be Like… (part of the Dominican Writers Association’s #DWACuenticos chapbook series), and most recently Quislaona: A Dominican Fantasy Anthology and Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice. Her short story, “El Don,” was a prize finalist for the 2022 Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize by the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival. She is a proud member of Latinx in Publishing’s Writers Mentorship Class of 2023 and lives in Florida with her family.
