To some New Yorkers, Dia de los Muertos - the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday - may sound like a morbid reminder of all they are trying to put behind them this year.

But Diego Medina says the meaning and tradition behind the holiday, celebrated every Nov. 1 and 2, is just what's needed at this time.

"It's just remarkably different, the way we Mexicans take death," said Medina, events coordinator at the Tepeyac Association, serving the city's Mexican immigrant community. He pointed out that the day not only memorializes the dead, but celebrates the continuity of life.

"We will have a traditional offrenda [altar], and people will bring the favorite foods, candles and flowers of their friends and relatives who have died," he said. Medina extended an invitation to all New Yorkers: "This year, everyone is invited to bring photos or stories or their loved one's favorite dish to add to our altar."

The offrenda will take place in the auditorium of St. Paul the Apostle Church on West 59th Street in Manhattan on Friday. Music and presentations will begin at 6 p.m.

Those observing the holiday will be joining Mexicans throughout the world, although Tepeyac's offrenda will have a unique focus in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks.

Sixty-six undocumented Latinos, including some Mexicans, are listed as missing in the attack. However, Medina said there are others who have died and who probably never will be officially reported. "Some lived alone," he said. "And for others who had families here, there is still a sense that if you remark, you could get in a trap with the INS."

In addition to the traditional decorations, Tepeyac's Day of the Dead offrenda will have numbers, names and pictures of community members missing in the World Trade Center attacks.

Those missing also will be memorialized in plays. "We are going to put together some of the stories of those who have been lost at the World Trade Center and those who have been lost at the border," said Brother Joel Magallan, a Jesuit, and executive director of Tepeyac.

In Mexico, families of those lost in the U.S. will pay tribute to their loved ones as well. The Day of the Dead is a deep tradition that reflects Mexico's complex history.

"Dia de los Muertos is a strong example of the mix of Catholic and Indian traditions in Mexico," Medina said. Originally an Aztec holiday celebrated every July, Spanish priests who came with the conquistadors moved the event to coincide with the Catholic holy day All Saints Day on Nov. 1. Now, Mexicans living in the U.S. deal with another cultural variable: incorporating the realities of immigrant life into a centuries-old tradition.

During Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, graves are visited and adorned with the favorite foods and luxuries of the dead. Grave- sites are heaped with favorite candles, flowers and sweets.

But in New York, Medina pointed out, "it is a new group of Mexican immigrants. Most haven't been here more than 15 years, and the main group of Mexicans living in New York is between 15 and 22 years old. We don't have a real concentration of graves or cemeteries yet, so we can't really recognize our dead in the holiday's traditional way."

In New York, most observances of the holiday are limited to small home altars and offerings. Medina hopes this won't lead to the ultimate erosion of Day of the Dead celebrations among Mexicans in New York. According to the census, 150,000 Mexican immigrants live in New York City, although Tepeyac estimates there are actually a half-million.

Medina holds out hope for the future. "Maybe the tradition will be taken up again by Mexicans here once there are cemeteries [in the New York area]," he said.

The art for this year's Day of the Dead event is largely the responsibility of young people, ages 6-12, attendees of Tepeyac's after-school programs in the Bronx and Queens, such as those at Blessed Sacrament Church in Jackson Heights.

"Usually, everyone but the children are collaborators in our celebration," said Paulina Quintero, Tepeyac's director of programming.

That has changed this year, as workshops weeks in advance have had children making masks and pictures for the offrenda.

Tepeyac expects 500 people will come to view the children's handiwork and attend the event. "This is the first year we are having an altar this big, and with participation from the general New York community," Medina said.

"Part of our work at Tepeyac is integration with the community, so we are making everything bilingual at the presentation."

If people aren't already enticed by music, plays and colorful artwork, Medina sweetened the invitation further.

"We'll have pan dulce [sugared breads] and hot chocolate," he said. "Warm, sweet things so people feel at home. At ease."

He hesitated, the feeling of post-Sept. 11 New York heavy in his pause and his offer that came before.

"Warm sweet things," Medina repeated. "So people can have some communion with life, too."

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