As Día de los Muertos approaches, local artists contributed works of art and sculpture dedicated to this Mexican holiday in Burton Barr’s newest art exhibit.
At the Burton Barr Central Library, city organizers and local artists collaborated to welcome this year’s Día de los Muertos with an exhibit at the branch’s Central Gallery. Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrated by families gathering to honor the memory of deceased loved ones through singing, dancing and altars.
As immigration led to a higher Hispanic population in the U.S., it also elevated the cultural profile of the 48-hour spanning holiday.
In Phoenix, 41 percent of the population identified as Hispanic at the time of the last national census, Halloween and Día de los Muertos have become a hand-in-hand celebration for many city residents.
Heather Kendall, who serves as the curator for the exhibit and oversees this year’s call for submissions, said celebrating Día de los Muertos has become an annual tradition for the library.
“We’ve done this every year for the past eight years,” Kendall said. “We really like to bring up voices of different groups to the forefront of our programming. We just like to bring a voice to people who may not always be heard.”
The exhibit is also a way to inform members of the community who may be unfamiliar with the practice, Kendall said.
“There have been people who have been offended by it or misunderstood it,” Kendall said. “I did once have a question from someone asking if it was all about worshipping the dead or a Satanic kind of thing. Once I explained it to her, I think she was more understanding.”
Ivette Rodriguez is an artist of Puerto Rican descent who arranged one of the exhibits currently showcased at the gallery. She said working on the altar was an opportunity to make sure the tradition was properly represented.
“It’s really important to educate people on what is the celebration and what is appropriation,” Rodriguez said. “What is the sharing and valuing of someone else’s culture and what is something that cheapens it?”
Rodriguez’s altar is dedicated to honoring the memories of notable figures from Puerto Rican history such as Blanca Canales, a former educator and political activist.
A small motion-activated speaker tucked in a corner of the altar’s table welcomes observers by playing “Hijos del Canaveral (Children of the Reedbed),” by rapper and island native Residente.
“I feel a really great joy and deep connection to my culture and I also feel very proud to represent my culture well,” Rodriguez said.
Jessica Gonzales, who collaborated with Rodriguez, said despite the tradition typically being regarded as Mexican, it has also grown to be a cultural point of convergence for other Latino communities.
“Día de los Muertos is such a great reminder of how we are rooted in our spirituality and how we honor those who have passed away,” Gonzales said. “Having these types of activities lends an opportunity for other Latinos to coalesce and participate in that process as a joint Latino community.”
On the other side of the room, an altar by Mexican artist Ines Rivas contributes to the celebration and dialogue by paying homage through an assortment of miniature dolls.
At the table are seated models of public figures and entertainers such as musician Jimi Hendrix, artist Frida Kahlo and Mexican comedian Roberto Gomez Bolanos, more popularly known as the creator-protagonist of the popular Mexican sitcom “El Chavo del Ocho (The Kid from the Block).”
“It was my way of reminding people that, no matter who we were, we’re all going to cross over to the other side,” Rivas said, adding the current political climate in the U.S. also motivated her in creating the altar.
“People forget that, at some point in our lives, we’re all going to cross a wall,” Rivas said. “Just not necessarily one made of concrete.”
Next to her exhibit sits a table decorated with plastic bouquets of flowers colored in different hues of red, pink, yellow and blue.
Its centerpiece, a plastic skull atop a bed of black roses, invites guests to “add a photograph in remembrance of a loved one” through a slip of paper placed directly in front of it on the white mantle they both rest on.
The Día de los Muertos exhibit is open to visitors during the library’s regular business hours.
On its last day in service, which coincides with Phoenix’s monthly “First Friday” arts and culture celebration, a reception will be hosted in its honor from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Son Jarocho Collective, an Arizona-based group of musicians specializing in folkloric Mexican music, will provide live entertainment.
The exhibit is slotted to run from October 15 to November 2.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated two last names. The story has been updated to reflect that the source’s names are Jessica Gonzales, not Jessica Garcia, and Ivette Rodriguez, not Ivette Gonzales.
For questions, contact the reporter at Samuel.Leal@asu.edu.
