The Day of the Dead Has Risen to Great Acclaim

 Día de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead")  is coming, and its macabre observance across many Latino communities in the US  is highly anticipated and welcomed.  The celebration originated in Mexico hundreds of years ago and is now honored in many parts of the world. In Los Angeles, one of the major cities where the modern US marking of this tradition began, more than 100,000 will participate in ghoulish style over several special days. Nationally in the US, the Day of the Dead as a local community-sponsored celebration now claims larger numbers of participants than other US Latino holidays including Cinco de Mayo and September 16th. 

Traditional dishes for  Día de los Muertos observance. Photo by Ricardo Romo 

Before the 1970s, the altars and cemetery celebrations of  Día de los Muertos remained largely private family affairs.  Families wishing to honor the departed went to the cemetery and placed flowers, food, and drinks on a loved one’s grave. That changed when an East Los Angeles Franciscan, Sister Karen Boccalero, spearheaded the introduction of the Day of the Dead celebration in Southern California.  Sister Karen, as she was known to the art community, was the lead member of a team of artists who founded Self Help Graphics & Arts [Self Help] in 1973 in East Los Angeles. 

Los Angeles Art Students and volunteers preparing for Self Help observance of Día de los Muertos. Photo by Ricardo Romo. 

Sister Karen and the dedicated trio of Latino artists who originated Self Help sponsored the first  Día de los Muertos in Los Angeles in November 1973. The event drew thousands from local neighborhoods and beyond, and the community asked Self Help to sponsor the event the following year. Sister Karen, who trained at Temple University as a  Master Printer and artist, wrote the initial Day of the Dead grants to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. At the time, Self Help was among the first Latino nonprofit art organizations in the US to receive funding from these two prestigious organizations. With generous support from several grants, a Self Help team organized a breathtaking three-day  Dia de Los Muertos celebration procession in Los Angeles that garnered national attention. 

The Aztecs who founded Mexico in 1325 celebrated  Día de los Muertos as did other older Indigenous people including the Olmecs, Mayans, and Toltecs.  The Aztec people believed that  Queen Mictecacihuatl ruled over the underworld and served as a protector of the dead.  The celebration honored the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl who returned annually to grave sites to ensure the bones of the deceased were protected. Mictecacihuatl, also known as the “Lady of the Dead,” presided over the Indigenous celebrations which lasted a month beginning in early November.  

When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in 1519, Friars began converting the native peoples to Roman Catholicism. Nonetheless, conquered natives continued their religious traditions, so the Catholic Bishops arranged for the Indigenous holiday to coincide with the Catholic celebration of All Saints and All Souls’ Day.  (November 1 and 2, respectively).

Los Angeles art student preparing for Self Help observance of Día de los Muertos. Photo by Ricardo Romo. 

 In the more modern version of the Day of the Dead sacred tradition, families and friends gather to honor and celebrate loved ones who have passed away. In Latino communities across the US, the tradition includes building ofrendas [altars], preparing favorite dishes for the deceased, visiting grave sites, and sharing fond memories.   

A Happy Calavera couple at Día de los Muertos in San Antonio. Photo by Ricardo Romo. 

In rural Mexican communities, family members and friends celebrate  Día de los Muertos with ofrendas [offerings] of special foods such as pan de muerto or atole [corn cereal].  Harriett and I visited a beautiful Día de los Muertos celebration in Oaxaca some years ago.  On those celebratory days, the dead were thought to be awakened from their eternal sleep by the presence of guests and the scent of favorite foods and flowers. Music, dances, sand paintings,  and candles also contributed to the awakenings. 

A small cemetery in Oaxacan village during the Day of the Dead observance. Photo by Ricardo Romo.

In larger communities and cities such as Mexico
City and Los Angeles,  Día de los Muertos is celebrated with a procession. Several years ago a James Bond movie, Spectre, opened with an elaborate Day of the Dead procession of large paper mache figures and costumed crowds dancing through the streets of downtown Mexico City.  Mexico City officials decided that the celebration of  Day of the Dead was indeed a good idea.  Oscar Lopez, a journalist with the New York Times, noted on October 30, 2021,  “The parade has since become an important tourist attraction for the capital, with 2.6 million attending in 2019.”  

A San Antonio couple celebrates Día de los Muertos. Photo by Ricardo Romo. 

Today the non-profit art and culture organization Self Help remains committed to the Día de los Muertos celebration, but other organizations in Los Angeles offer competing venues and events. John Valadez, a long-time artist in the Los Angeles Latino community, told me that 50 years ago when the Día de los Muertos started, the event was modest in attendance. However, once it evolved into a street procession the local community joined with enthusiasm. The streets were crowded with Latinos of all ages wearing costumes and masks. My friend Oscar Castillo, an award-winning photographer who covered the Los Angeles Día de los Muertos for several newspapers, agreed that today’s celebration looks considerably different from the Día de los Muertos celebrations of the early 1970s. 

A Día de los Muertos altar at the Pearl, San Antonio, Texas. Photo by Ricardo Romo. 

In the meantime, Self Help is thriving, hosting cultural events, training the next creative generation, and printing and showing the works of established artists.  In the Spring of 2024, Self Help began major renovations to their building on 1300 First Street.  As Self Help celebrates its 51st year as an arts organization, the nonprofit has expanded its collaboration with museums and universities in Southern California. Over the years, the organization has offered hundreds of artists training in printmaking, painting and drawing, and cultural arts. Additionally, Self Help has created an important venue for emergent artists to present their creative works. Self Help’s talented teachers, staff, and volunteers not only have provided opportunities for individuals to develop creative talents, but they have also promoted Latino art and culture and enhanced Latino community pride and development. 

Cooking for the the Dead. La Villita. Photo by Ricardo Romo.

Special News Announcement.

National Portrait Gallery Announces Artist List and Prizewinners. San Antonio Latino photographer Al Rendon and Albuquerque Latino artist Vicente Telles are among 35 artists honored. 

PR Newswire: Tue, October 8, 2024.

"The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today" Exhibition To Open May 3, 2025, Followed by a Tour to Other U.S. Cities

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has announced the artist list and prizewinners for "The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today," a major exhibition featuring juried selections from the museum's seventh triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. The seven-person jury chose 35 portraits (by 36 artists) to go on view as part of the exhibition. The selection, which was drawn from more than 3,300 entries, includes artist contributions from 14 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Taína Caragol, curator of painting, sculpture and Latine art and history for the National Portrait Gallery, is the director of the 2025 competition. She and Charlotte Ickes, curator of time-based media art and special projects for the Portrait Gallery, are co-organizing the exhibition.