For Pilsen flower shops, Día De Los Muertos Marigolds is about more than just sales: It's about “community”

PILSEN – Flower shops in Pilsen have been preparing for Día de los Muertos, one of the busiest times of the year when demand skyrockets for a particular flower: cempasúchil, or marigolds.

The Mexican holiday traditionally celebrated from October 31st to November 31st. 2 is an opportunity for families and friends to come together and celebrate the lives of their departed loved ones.

An essential part of Día de los Muertos is the ofrenda, or altar, which families decorate with cempasúchil, pictures and items of their loved ones. The souls of the deceased are drawn back through the flowers to their families' ofrendas.

While the holiday is only celebrated for a few days, local flower shops begin accepting pre-orders for cempasúchil well before Día de los Muertos begins.

At Flor de Monte, 1951 W. 22nd St., demand for the orange blossoms has skyrocketed as the holiday has become more popular, said Zenia Ruiz, who co-owns the shop with her mother.

“More and more people are becoming aware of it. But I think for a long time it was a kind of silence, spent in the privacy of your home,” Ruiz said.

Flor de Monte, which opened in 2002, sold about 10 to 20 bundles of cempasúchil per season in its early years, said Ruiz, who began working in the business with her mother after earning her MBA from DePaul University.

It wasn't until 2017 that Ruiz said she noticed a shift, with both Mexican and non-Mexican customers looking for marigolds.

“At our peak we made over 300 bundles,” she said.

Flor de Monte is now accepting pre-orders from mid-October to ensure only the freshest flowers are placed on the ofrendas. Outside of Día de los Muertos, the store specializes in events and no longer offers walk-in retail sales.

Ruiz said she sees the love for her culture and community in her 12-year-old daughter, who celebrates her Hispanic heritage and enjoys helping decorate the family ofrenda.

“It's a nice tradition. I love that my daughter embraces it,” Ruiz said. “I love that she has that while I didn’t.”

Increased awareness of the holiday has led to the proliferation of Latin American flower shops and helped boost other businesses in the neighborhood, such as grocery stores that also sell cempasúchil, Ruiz said.

“There are so many more floral studios that didn’t exist before, and there are even more that are run by Latinas, which is fantastic,” she said. “So now there are more people offering cempasúchil, whereas before people had to look for it.”

Semillas, 1848 S. Blue Island Ave., also sells cempasúchil. Although her shop has only been open since 2020, owner Angélica Varela says it has become a magnet for anyone looking for flowers.

Varela said it is no longer nearly as difficult as it used to be to buy cempasúchil wholesale from a farm.

“I think now that the demand is there, everyone is preparing. “Many farmers make it a point to start with pre-cutting,” Varela said.

Semillas offers pre-orders for cempasúchils, but also tries to have extras on hand at the store for those who walk in. Varela never wants to turn anyone away and stop them from celebrating, she said.

Varela said the store regularly sells about 300 packages each season at a price of $16 per package.

While business is good at Varela and Ruiz's stores this time of year, their goal is not to make a profit from Cempasúchils, they said.

“At the end of the day, there aren’t big profit margins,” said Ruiz, who sells her packages for $17 each. “For us, it’s more about being able to provide it easily.”

That's exactly what brings customers like Gabriel Mendoza into their stores. Mendoza, who was born and raised in Pilsen, celebrates Día de los Muertos with his grandmother. As a weekly regular at Semillas, he said the store's emphasis on community keeps him coming back.

“It's not just 'Buy, buy, buy.'” They care about what you're going through and what you need. “It’s a community here,” Mendoza said.

Ruiz said Día de los Muertos is about gathering with neighbors and acknowledging both grief and love and how the emotions interact with each other.

The holiday reminds Ruiz of her late grandmother, Maria Ruiz. She said that although her grandmother died some time ago, the sadness still comes to the surface during the holidays – but the fond memories are there too.

“So I think the sadness is there. There's joy too, right? And you see that joy in the flowers, right?” Ruiz said. “I think the flowers just make you feel a little warmer and brighter. … It’s a beautiful way to include the person you love in this flower.”

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