About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2018)
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com She (Times gainesvilletimes.com Friday, November 2, 2018 Photos by AUSTIN STEELE I The Times Pan de muertos is a type of pastry prepared during the weeks leading up to Dia de los Muertos. La Esperanza Panaderia is one of the bakeries in Gainesville that prepares pan de muerto. I r Isal Pan de muerto made in celebration of El Dfa de los Muertos J BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com El Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday meant to celebrate family and friends who have died. On Nov. 1 and 2, after all the costumes have been hung up and the candy is being con sumed, Mexicans begin eating pan de muerto, a sweet bread made during the holiday and meant to be shared with family. You can find pan de muerto in just about any Mexican bak eries. In Gainesville, La Espe ranza Panaderia in midtown and Panaderia La Esperanza Bakery on Atlanta Highway spend a lot of time making sure customers have just what they need for the holiday. “We have bakers that come in at 10 at night and work until seven in the morning, just mak ing sure the bread is fresh by the time the store opens,” said Osiel Altamirano, whose father owns La Esperanza Panaderia. Instead of mourning, those who observe El Dia de los Muertos choose to celebrate the lives lived by those they knew. The first day of the holi day is meant for remembering children while the second day is meant for adults. Zeiry Carrillo, whose par ents own Panaderia La Espe ranza Bakery, said when the holiday originated, the bread was made and taken to the graves of those who had died. “They believe their spirits came and ate the food they provided,” Carrillo said. “But later on, they just made it to eat themselves.” Oftentimes, there’s some what of a feast with the favor ite dishes of the ones families are remembering, but the one constant among all families in the celebration is pan de muerto. The bread comes in a wide variety of styles. There are dif ferent sizes and colors as well as toppings. Some are plain, but some come dusted with sugar or sprinkles. Altamirano said he likes to enjoy it with hot chocolate. “It’s just remembering the people who have passed before you and also just being around family,” Altamirano said. At his family’s store, the bak ers only make pan de muerto during a two-week period lead ing up to the holiday. “They make so much of it because a lot of people like it and they just buy big pieces and slice them up with their family,” Altamirano said. The ingredients are pretty simple. Carrillo said it’s just flour, egg, sugar, cinnamon, yeast and salt. But it’s the spe cial shape that distinguishes it from everything else. Pan de muerto is baked in a bun shape, similar to a regular, round loaf of bread from the bakery. On top, though, pan de muerto usually has dough shaped like bones and some times even a skull. “It’s a day that’s special back in Mexico,” Altamirano said. Above: La Esperanza Panaderia offers a variety of pastries and other grocery goods. Right: Humberto Sandoval, a baker at the Panaderia, works with dough on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Get the most color out of your fall with these plants Fall has been a long time com ing, with summer lasting until about a week ago. Although our landscape glory is fading, look around because there are some great colors popping up this football season. You don’t have to drive to the mountains to get good fall color — just find the right plants. Blend some plants into your landscape that will really make fall shine. Some of the trees that are famous for their bright colors this time of year, which will do well in certain design circum stances, are sugar maple, ginkgo, redbud, poplar, crape myrtle, sour- wood and Japanese maple. Sweetgum is a tree most folks want to remove, but it is fantastic for its orange and yellow leaves. Before you remove one, take the time to enjoy what it offers. Remember that the colors of the leaves, berries or flowers aren’t the only color that a plant offers. The bark can offer color contrast as well. A sycamore tree can be seen far into the woods and gleams when all the leaves have fallen. The bright white bark looks as though it has just been dusted with snow. Young river birch has awesome exfoliating bark — trees with bark that peels away from the trunk — that appears similar sheets of pink ish to reddish brown paper, and certain varieties of crape myrtles also have an exfoliating bark that has an amazing rusty red color to liven up the drab landscape. There are numerous shrubs that can add to the understory of a yard, like what fall leaves do to CAMPBELL VAUGHN ecvaughn@uga.edu a forest. Fothergilla is the sugar maple for fall color leaves on deciduous shrubs. Clethra bursts with yellow when the leaves are getting ready to drop. Virginia sweetspire has a dark red leaf that tarry on the stem for a long time once it starts turning. Blueberry and oakleaf hydrangea also carry a deep red leaf when changing color. In the same instance as the trees, the aforementioned oakleaf hydrangea is a great one for the fall landscape. It not only has that fall color leaf burst, but the exfoli ating bark is a unique feature for the bland times the colder weather brings us. Fall can also bring some vibrant flowers. Goldenrod has a wispy form with a panicle type yellow flower. Wild ageratum is a native flower that can take over some areas, but has a beautiful soft purple low growing flower. Swamp or false sunflower is in the daisy family and will explode a mass of yellow that will have people stopping to view your yard. Joe-Pye weed is another native perennial found on stream banks can get tall and show its large headed purple flower in the middle of autumn. Don’t forget about the ubiquitous chrysanthe mum which has been hybridized to have almost any color match any circumstance. You also have berries and grasses that can be utilized. Hol lies, pyracantha, cotoneaster and nandina are our red berry favorites, while beautyberry has a lavender purple berry all along the stem. As for grasses, you can see pink muhly grass exploding pink blooms all over town. Remember, spring and summer aren’t the only times for showy landscapes. Fall is a great time to show some flare as well. Campbell Vaughn is UGA Extension- Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent in Richmond County. He can be reached at ecvaughn@uga.edu.
