EVENT RECAP: “Connecting With Ancestors” Community Altar
Saturday, October 26th— We came together in East Los Angeles to celebrate the spirits through art and remembrance.
We enjoyed Hibiscus fizz drinks compliments of Barney Santos at BLVD MKT while Chicano Batman played in the background and the air was filled with the smell of copal and cempasúchil. Even though it was Dodgers game day the community still showed up and supported the vision and love we put into our ofrenda.
My first encounter with the Dia De Los Muertos was at La Plácita Olvera in Downtown Los Angeles on a field trip. The sugar skulls and the cempasúchil captivated me and the idea of being able to conviene with and honor the dead made me excited. But it wasn’t until I was much older that I actually felt brave enough to begin practicing it myself. It’s something that feels like it found me as I began unpacking the history I learned in school from a critical lens and as I started unpacking my dons (spiritual gifts/abilities). I saw the work of the 1970s artist collectives like ASCO and Los 4 in person, in East LA and it woke up something inside of me— I’ve been making my own altars for close to 10 years now.
In the tradition of Los 4 and ASCO, I have leaned into making altars that have an artistic component. And for that reason I wanted this exhibit to be a combination of community, art, and culture. The entire show ended up being a collaboration between myself and three other amazing mujeres Ely Valdivia, Mercedes Zapata, and Katherine Delgado.
Chicago artist Mercedes Zapata, is known for her pensive and powerful portraits. I wanted her to show some of the beautiful work she’s done over the years particularly because she captures strength so beautifully and her subjects are likely the wildest dreams of their ancestors. She also draws a lot of inspiration from her grandmother.
Ely Valdivia is the owner of the only queer Chicana candle shop in East LA. She’s been in her City Terrace shop for nearly 2 years and has carefully curated the space to include products, art, and events for and by the local community. Her soy and bees wax candles are all created and hand poured in City Terrace and they smell amazing!
Katherine Delgado graciously offered to help us with the construction of the altar as well as the artistic direction. She’s built ofrendas for companies like Walt Disney Music Hall and El Sereno Green Grocers. Her work centers and amplifies the experiences of communities, individuals and brands through a range of visual communication.
More about Dia De Los Muertos
Although dia de los muertos is most commonly associated with Mexico it’s actually a tradition that is practiced all over Latin America. It’s a 3000 year old Aztec and Mesoamerican holiday that consisted of rituals that were meant to honor death as a natural part of the cycle of life. The tradition was melded with catholicism by force and it was synchronized with “All saint’s day” when the Spanish invaded, which has resulted in the way dia de los muertos is practiced today.
Typically families decorate graves, bring food to gravesites, and light the way for the dead to return to them, there is also the building of the ofrenda altar where offerings and photos of loved ones are placed.
Mercedes Zapata’s work will be on display through the month of November and the ofrenda will be up until Nov 2nd.
Artist abstract
This photo collection celebrates women of resistance.
As people who have been marginalized, it is to our benefit to connect with ancestors for guidance, strength, and protection. By honoring those who have come before us, we can work towards building a better world for those who come after us.
On this wall, you will see activists, actors, poets, writers, joumalists, artists, mothers, brujas-just all around incredible people I have been fortunate enough to be entrusted to photograph. This is an opportunity to see how our collective power could look like & a hope that we all advocate for one another.
When creating a set for someone, I will ask them how they want to feel, how they would like to be portrayed, and if there's any colors, fabrics, or flowers I can use to honor their culture and selves. Their answers give a better understanding of how to approach my set. I build these with the intention of honoring the person in front of me in an authentic way and to create a portrait that reads like a timeless painting. Each fabric can be understood as paint strokes on a canvas. It's the highest compliment when someone tells me that the photos of themselves remind them of an ancestor or how they can't wait for these photos to be a part of their legacy for generations to come. Photography is an art of remembering.
The self-portrait with my grandmother has allowed me to see her with me at this age.
She passed away when I was 18, as I was just barely entering adulthood. As the matriarch of my family and my main guardian, this grief will last a lifetime. Within this family favorite photo, she holds this abundant bouquet in such an elegant and strong way that has definitely informed how I pose my clients. Her love seeps into all of my artwork. Within the self portrait, I am holding an arrangement of dead flowers, and dried out cempasuchiles hang above me from a cloud.
I am trying to show you how we are connected that life and death are one in the same and I am never without her nor she without me.