CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)

Tania Gonzalez, social-media programming manager for CNET en Español, constructed an elaborate Day of the Dead altar at her CNET desk that pays tribute to defunct devices found around the office while celebrating her Mexican heritage.

"I wanted to share our traditions with the CNET team in a way that felt natural, and I thought that including technology was the best way to go," she says. "Not everyone is as used to seeing altars to our dead love ones as we Mexicans are, so when you use an inanimate object, it's easier to start getting immersed in the tradition."

It's common to construct Day of the Dead altars that honor not only people, but objects and hobbies. Many contests in Mexico encourage the kind of creativity seen in this altar by Tania Gonzalez of CNET en Español.

Flip phones, slider phones, heavy brick phones...virtually every style of old cell phone makes a showing.

But Tania Gonzalez's Day of the Dead Devices altar at CNET also includes many traditional components. Candles, for example, are lit to welcome spirits back from the other side.

Netflix? What Netflix? This carefully constructed Day of the Dead altar at CNET honors the old VHS tape.

Marigolds often arch above Day of the Dead altars, and their petals are strewn on the ground leading up to them. CNET's Tania Gonzalez didn't want to toss flowers on the office floor (tripping hazard), so she kept her bright orange marigolds positioned safely on top of the desk.

A Bandai Gunfighter handheld electronic game from the '80s and some 8mm film sit among traditional Day of the Dead offerings.

Day of the Dead altars are often constructed with great care and attention to detail, and this one by Tania Gonzalez of
CNET en Español (seen working at her computer) is no exception.

Traditional day of the Dead adornments, such as snacks and sugar skulls, which are seen as symbols of death and the afterlife, sit next to old gadgets on CNET's Day of the Dead Devices altar.

Day of the Dead originated centuries ago in Mexico, where it is still widely celebrated. Now CNET is getting in on the tradition, thanks to CNET en Español.