By As many of you who follow me know, my mother passed away this last March, after a 6 year battle against cancer. For el Dia de los Muertos, my youngest sister came across a call for altars at the Springs Preserve in Nevada for the annual Day of the Dead celebration. A lover of nature and art, we couldn’t think of a more fitting place to remember our mother with an altar.
My mother was a native of Nevada. Our family arrived to the Valley in the 40s as migrant farm workers. Two generations later we are still here. My mother’s family now owns the once migrant living quarters. My grandfather purchased the property from the Japanese family they worked in the fields for, converting the units into a home.
Our altar was dedicated to my mother and her family. The altar was in the category of traditional/traditional. Our guidelines were to create an altar that encompassed all the components of a traditional altar. To ensure that it reflected an altar like those built by Mexican families throughout central Mexico and Texas, where our family is from, it consisted of the three traditional tiers:
The lower tier represents the underworld; hence the Calaveras, a symbol of death. The mid-section represents the life of the deceased. Because my mother was a lover of nature, we included some of her most beloved items and favorite foods, such as a country home to represent the countryside, and baskets of flowers, to represent her love of wildflowers and the outdoors. Also included on this tier is the pan de Muerto, a traditional Day of the Dead sweet bread.
Last, the top tier is a reflection of the divine. My mother was a devout Catholic, and, so, we placed at the center, La Virgin de Guadalupe, who is considered to be the supreme mother of all Mexicans who practice the Catholic faith. Also on the top to the left is La Virgin de San Juan de Los Lagos. She is a venerated Virgin from Central Mexico and Texas, who our grandmother and great grandmother prayed to in times of need. Throughout the altar, you will also notice the many marigolds, which are used to welcome and guide the spirits to the altar, the flowers scent and colors serving as a beacon of sorts.
Our altar was truly a traditional altar, with components of air, water, fire, and earth reflected throughout the tiers. We enjoyed taking part in the celebration that brought out many Latinos and non-Latinos to celebrate Mexico’s tradition and its people. We were delighted by the large crowds that stopped at our altar to appreciate its beauty. As an artist, my sister Monica ensured that the altar maintained the traditional components that were asked of us by the organizers, and kindly volunteered her creative talents to create an altar that was grand and beautiful, truly a celebration of traditional altars and our mother.
While our altar and many other stand out altars did not win in their categories, we, as artists , who are both trained and educated in the arts, wanted to use our platform to highlight the work of those that did not receive the recognition we feel they deserved.
The Dia de Los Muertos event is truly made magical by those who volunteer their talent and passion to build altars that wow and attract the community to the celebration. For this reason, it is important to recognize the work of artist who can achieve such masterpieces, for the enjoyment of all. There was one altar that was truly magnificent. It without a doubt was the best in its category and the entire celebration. Dedicated to his father, the altar Pop’s Garden by artist Isais Hiram Urrabazo was a show stopper:
We also recognize that many alters were beautiful in their messaging and it seems that this was the judges preference. We appreciated that the majority of the altars that won in their category were statement pieces aimed to respond to and highlight the political hostility towards Latinos at this time. While this component of the judging process was honorable, it should have had a class of its own, to ensure that other altars, such as artists, and other altars that were not so much political statements, but a celebration of a relative or Latino icon, would be fairly recognized in accordance with the guidelines provided and for the artistic abilities of those who created them. The following two altars were among my favorites:
As a Las Vegas native, who has traveled and lived in some of the largest cities in the U.S., I was truly impressed with this event and would go so far as to label it one of the best Dia de los Muertos celebrations in the nation.
I came home from the Midwest to assist my sisters for this event. The Springs Preserve, with its desert landscape and vegetation, the entertainment, the altars, and the food, truly made for a magical event. To stroll the pathways of the preserve and see altars light up at night, and to hear music playing in the distance, laughter from families, and the smell of cinnamon churros and chocolate, truly makes for a beautiful local tradition that I hope continues for years to come.
Below I share photos of our altar from the event:
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