Then I noticed the “halo” around her head.
#Dia de los muertos decorations in downtown la grand park professional
(There will be more details from the altars in Part 3 of this series.) Obviously the work of a professional artist, this “altar” struck me at first as a bride. Notice that the RIP stands for Ride in Peace. Miniature motorcycles were added to this altar memorializing the death of 2 cyclists. In the past there have been altars in memory of people killed in auto accidents, but this year the only one I noticed was one for motorcyclists. Surrounding the skull are the corn husks used in tamales. Eric Scuds, an artist affiliated with Self-Help Gallery, painted this skull as part of the massive art installation in the plaza at the top of Grand Park. This representation by Heriberto Luna is part of the Self-Help Gallery altar. The two headed serpent is a powerful deity in Mayan culture and a creature that bridges death and life. Self-Help is a gallery and serigraph studio founded decades ago by the late Sister Karen to offer a venue for the works of local Latino/Mexican-American/Chicano artists who were excluded from the art world in Los Angeles.
This grand altar was created by artists who are affiliated with Self-Help Gallery. The yellow paper heart reads Rest in Peace in Spanish. These are some of the things that abuelita loved: knitting, black beans in a brown pot, her family, maybe the Mexican lottery? There is a horse pinata on the left as well as a banana and orange and even a mango on the right side of this altar. This altar in memory of a grandmother, an abuelita, is very traditional family altar. There are many more than I am showing here. The altars will remain in Grand Park until November 4th, 2018. Meanwhile you can see photos of Dia de los Muertos at historic Olvera Street on this site. And in the Third Part I’ll show you close-ups of what is actually included on the altars. See other Political Day of the Dead altars including one very very surprising altar.
I am breaking up the photos I took into three parts. The timing of November 1st was a compromise between the old ways and the “new”. This ancient festival in Mayan culture pre-dates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico. Marigolds became part of this tradition because their vibrant colors were considered to be a signal–a signpost–to the dead of where to return to visit family members at the cemetery on November 1st, All Saints Day. While they varied from massive works of art by professional artists to intimate memorial altars created by a family member, they all had one thing in common: masses of orange and yellow marigolds. There seemed to be fewer Day of the Dead altars this year in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. Real marigolds and paper ones decorated the altars. The yellow floating altar that reads “Natalie” actually includes a photo of Natalie Wood. The children are oblivious! Fun in the sun on a hot Sunday in October is all they care about. Children play in the water fountain while a few feet away are floating altars in memory of the dead.
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