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Día de Maestas: Family remembers slain teen on Day of the Dead
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RIO RANCHO — A golden pathway now leads a dead 15-year-old home.
The one-year anniversary of the death Adrian Maestas, a Rio Rancho teen killed at the intersection of Inca Road and Second Street in 2024, happened to fall on a day to remember dead loved ones during Día de los Muertos. However, the Nov. 1 memorial was interrupted by the Rio Rancho Police Department after a neighbor confronted the group and called police.
A day that is typically a day of celebration in the Hispanic community was a deep reminder to Darcy Romero, Maestas’ mom, that her son is dead.
Many who drive along Rainbow Boulevard in Rio Rancho will have seen Maestas’ large memorial at the intersection with Inca Road, but there are few who know where his cross is. A small distance away from residences on Second Street, there is a more personal memorial to Maestas. Romero said that is where he was shot.
Romero was joined by a “la calavera catrina” portrayed by family friend Miquela Rodriguez and a mariachi band to guide his spirit away from that site. The “la calavera catrina” was more specifically a “la calavera garbancera” or “the chickpea skull.” Rodriguez was elegantly dressed, delicately painted with a sugar skull and had a “walking ofrenda” (offering altar) hat decorated with flowers, skulls and, most importantly, photos those who have died, including Maestas.
The “la calavera garbancera” catrina that Rodriguez portrayed was in Mexican artist José Guadeloupe Posada’s works in the early 1900’s, according to her.
“Posada depicted her as a skeletal figure, wearing an elegant French-style hat with nothing else on. The outfit emphasized that death makes all people equal, regardless of their wealth, class, or ambition in life. Diego Rivera, who gave the figure a full body and a prominent place in his 1947 mural, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, La Catrina evolved into a national emblem and a central figure of the Day of the Dead,” Rodriguez stated. “She embodies the beauty of death and alters the mourning sadness of death to a beautiful joyous celebration of life’s cycle.”
Rodriguez said as she began spreading the petals where Maestas was killed she felt sad.
“His friends, these poor young boys and girls, mourning the death of of their friend trying to celebrate his life on a special day were once again led walking down a street filled with police cars and a neighbor making false accusations to call police and interrupt the whole thing,” she said.
“These kids are so strong! we walked passed multiple police cars spreading Marigold petals as I took every step. I couldn’t imagine the trauma, the memories, the flashbacks these kids experienced being in the same place he’d passed away with all of these officers all over once again.”
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Rodriguez lead the family and friends in a short procession toward Maestas’ larger memorial on Rainbow Boulevard. Gently scattering marigold flower petals behind her, she created a path for Maestas’ soul to follow, as is tradition on Día de los Muertos.
The event did not go uninterrupted, however. Early on, a resident of the neighborhood drove up to the group at the Rainbow Boulevard memorial and honked for people to move out of the way. Group members addressed the driver, telling them that a memorial was going on. There was yelling and cursing from both parties, and the driver drove away.
Later on at the Second Street memorial site, RRPD officers showed up after the driver had called police reporting that one of the young men present “opened his waistband” in a threatening way. The teen was questioned and patted down, though the boy’s parents intervened, stating that he was a minor and should not be questioned without their consent or presence.
While the teen was being interviewed, the driver stood at the street corner yelling at some of the group members who yelled back. Some group members confronted the police officers, again explaining the event was a memorial for the dead teen.
Eventually, temperatures cooled when Romero talked to a more senior officer she recognized. The driver was asked to leave the scene, and officers stayed to ensure the safety of the group.
RRPD public information officer Capt. Nick Army confirmed Nov. 3 no charges were issued since police did not find a gun, despite being sent to the location on a report an armed subject.
After the event was over, Romero talked to the group about what happened.
“As usual, we have another good example today of how if you mess with one of us you mess with us all. And that’s what Adrian did — he brought us all together as a family,” she said.
“I personally needed this because I feel him when I go back there, and I hate it. I don’t know if it’s gonna work. I don’t know if it’s just what I feel, but I tried to do it as traditional as possible.”
She thanked the group for their support. She added that she has received a lot of support from the community, including Rio Rancho High School’s football coach, who allowed Romero to hang her son’s picture at the Rams vs. Cleveland game Oct. 30.
“Kids and parents would walk up and touch his photo,” she said.
Romero said she misses when people would cheer her son on at games. “It was good to hear the fans talking about the games Adrian was in and how much he meant to them.”
She said that she understands the current situation with the investigation into her son’s death but still wants to get the case to a trial so she can get some resolution.
At the end of the memorial, a yellow butterfly landed on Maestas’ photo. Romero said she took that as a sign that she did everything right in terms of tradition.
