RIDGELAND, Miss. (WLBT) - There’s an old saying that necessity is the mother of invention.
For one Ridgeland woman, it was a desire to honor her late father, as well as a need for the supplies to do it, that prompted her to start her own business.
Carla Hobson is the owner of Little Sugar Skull, a business dedicated to making and supplying the hard, hollow, sugary skulls used in Day of the Dead celebrations.
“I wanted to make an altar and I didn’t find the supplies that I needed to do it,” she said. “I knew that more people like me were out there trying to find those supplies, and that’s why I decided to start my... business.”
Today, Hobson makes hundreds of skulls every October and November, most of which will end up on Day of the Dead altars. She also puts on numerous workshops teaching others to make the skulls themselves.
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On Tuesday, she hosted an event at the Ridgeland Public Library, where she also set up a temporary altar for people to honor their loved ones, including her father, Benigno Espinosa. She also hosts regular events at CC’s Coffee House, also in Ridgeland.
“I thought that it could be neat to share my traditions in the U.S.A., you know, and I just asked the people in the library if they would allow me to do that,” she said. “So, I tried my best to make it look like something very similar to what we have in Mexico.”
The skulls help Hobson hold onto what she left behind when she came to the United States more than a decade ago. She moved to the states after marrying her husband, James.
“When l left my country, I did it because I was in love,” she said. “But I left all my life, all that I was, I left it in Mexico to start from zero in the U.S.A. So, the only way to keep my identity was through my traditions. That... was the only thing that I could bring with me.”
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In addition to holding onto her tradition, Hobson says the business gives her the opportunity to dispel misconceptions about the Day of the Dead Festival, which she explains is not Mexico’s version of Halloween or a cult ritual.
“Nothing like that,” she said. “It’s a time when we remember the good times [that] we had with our people... to keep them alive, to remember them.”
The Day of the Dead Festival is traditionally held on the first and second days of November each year. During that time, Hobson said people set up altars to honor loved ones and decorate them with their loved ones’ favorite foods, games and drinks.
Some of Benigno’s favorite items, for instance, included hot soups and hot chocolate. “I couldn’t put that soup in the library, you know, but in my home, I do,” she said.
Hobson says the altar set up in her home not only includes soups and hot chocolate, but also a set of dominoes, one of his favorite games, and notes from his granddaughter, who he never had a chance to meet.
The sugar skulls are added to represent the spirits of those that are being honored. About the size of an adult fist, the items are made with sugar, water and a skull mold. Once the sugar hardens, the skulls are hollowed out and decorated in bright colors.
And as pretty as some of the skulls might be, Hobson wouldn’t recommend eating one. “It’s too much sugar,” she said. “They are hard, you know, you can break your teeth.”
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