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Día de los Muertos A time to grieve and remember: NTL. museum of mexican art

Photo of alter in exhibit.

What is Día de los Muertos?

El Día de Los Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated annually on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. This holiday originated in Mexico but is also celebrated in areas that have a large population of people with Mexican heritage. Día de Los Muertos is a time to grieve, remember, and celebrate those in our lives who have passed away. This holiday is usually commemorated by setting up “ofrendas” (altars) and placing memories of our loved ones on the ofrendas. Ofrendas are adorned with the person's favorite food, clothes, and pictures of them, along with candles, “flores de muerto” (marigolds), and “calaveras” (sugar skulls).

El Día de Los Muertos es una celebración Mexicana que se celebra anualmente en el 1 y 2 de Noviembre. Esta celebración tiene sus raíces en México, pero también está celebrado en lugares donde hay una gran población de personas con la herencia Mexicana. El Día de Los Muertos es un tiempo para hacer el luto, recordar, y celebrar las vidas de personas que ya se han fallecido. Esta celebración usualmente está conmemorada con la preparación de ofrendas para nuestros parientes. Ofrendas están adornadas con la comida favorita, ropa, y fotos de la persona que están celebrando en la ofrenda. También usualmente hay velas, flores de muerto, y calaveras de azúcar en las ofrendas.

Essential Warrior Series (Guerrero escencial serie): Jorge Garza

Video of portion of exhibit featuring art work from Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Yucatán (Video de una parte de la exhibición que muestra arte de los estados de Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Yucatán).

Coatlicue Woman (Coatlicue mujer): Isabel Martinez
Silver ofrenda capturing Oaxacan style (Ofrenda de plata en el estilo Oaxaqueño).
Ofrenda honoring Adam Toledo (Ofrenda en honor de Adam Toledo).
Part of the Adam Toledo ofrenda (Parte de la ofrenda en honor de Adam Toledo).

Excerpts from The New York Times "What to Know About the Police Shooting of Adam Toledo"

"Officials in Chicago released body camera footage on Thursday of a police officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy last month, setting off protests over the use of deadly force by police in a city that has been beleaguered by violence."

"The boy, Adam Toledo, who was Latino and was a seventh-grader, was one of the youngest people killed by the police in Illinois in years."

Una habitación propia: una ofrenda para mi madre - ofrenda honoring the mother of Chicago author Sandra Cisneros, Elvira Cordero Cisneros.
Part of the ofrenda to Elvira Cordero Cisneros (Parte de la ofrenda en honor de Elvira Cordero Cisneros).
Brown People for Black Lives (Personas morenas en apoyo de las vidas negras) 2020: Yollocali Youth Council
Part of the Brown People for Black Lives art piece (Parte de Personas morenas en apoyo de las vidas negras).
Memorial to Homero Gómez González and Raúl Hernández Romero, activists and protectors of forests and monarch butterflies in Michoacán, México, assassinated in 2020 (Homenaje a Homero Gómez González y Raúl Hernández Romero, activistas y protectores de los bosques y la mariposa monarca en Michoacán, México, asesinados en el 2020): Hector Duerte
The Offering to Our Deceased (La ofrenda a nuestros muertos): Arturo Garcia
Dance with Death (Baile con la Muerte): Vincent Valdez
Remembering (Recuerdo): Vincent Valdez
Without dreams or your eyes (Sin sueños ni tus ojitos): Arely Morales - Depiction of the passing away of a son in a family of immigrants trying to enter the Unites States. (Representación de la muerte de un hijo de una familia de inmigrantes tratando a entrar a los EEUU).
Our Vanessa Guillén (Nuestra Vanessa Guillén): Juan Solis

Excerpts from The New York Times "What to Know About the Death of Vanessa Guillen"

"Specialist Vanessa Guillen was reported missing on April 23. On April 24, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command posted a news release asking for the public’s help in finding her. Thousands of soldiers searched in buildings, barracks, fields, training areas, lakes and trails at Fort Hood."

"On June 30, human remains were found near the Leon River in Bell County, Texas. On July 3, the Army confirmed that the remains were Specialist Guillen’s."

"Prosecutors announced a charge in the case on July 2, detailing accusations that Specialist Guillen was killed by another soldier who then tried to dispose of her remains. In a federal complaint, the accused soldier was identified as U.S. Army Specialist Aaron Robinson, 20"

If they let us (Si nos dejan): Joel Hernandez
Ofelia Lara (Ofelia Lara): Carina Yepez in collaboration with María Herrera - Tapestry depicting the late mother of a freiend of Yepez (Tapiz representando la mamá difunta de una amiga de Yepez).
Pray for us (Ruega por nosotros): Moises Salazar

Previews Into The Other Art Galleries

La última bendición de soldier boy (The last blessing for soldier boy): Ester Hernandez

Art work depicting the grape-pickers struggle against the use of pesticides in their work (Arte representando la lucha de los recolectores de uvas contra el uso de pesticidas in sus trabjos).

Abraham Morales

Every year when I was younger, right before the beginning of Día de los Muertos, my mom would take my brother and I to the National Museum of Mexican Art. We would always look around the museum and then head to the gift shop to purchase calaveras with my grandparents' names on them. I didn’t really understand the meaning of the holiday back then, but visiting the museum again with actual knowledge about the holiday and learning more about the rich history of Día de los Muertos, really put a lot of things into perspective. Each year the museum changes up the art for Día de los Muertos, and likewise it seems like every year the art gets more personal and more alluring. It's been about seven years since I last visited the museum, but going back brought back so much nostalgia. Dia de los Muertos is a very emotional holiday, yet it is able to take the subject of death, which is often ignored or negatively stereotyped, and make it into something beautiful. Every art piece exhibited was stunning and profound.

My favorite piece at the museum was "Without dreams or your eyes" (Sin sueños ni tus ojitos). It’s depiction is so raw and chilling, yet it's hard to not look away. In the actual exhibit, the art piece is huge, making it hard to ignore once you enter the room. There is no background story to this piece, yet the environment tells a story that doesn’t need explaining. The piece is extremely personal and captures the reality of immigration. The painting does not bother to sugar coat anything, but rather displays greif, tragedy, and conflict, in its most authentic form— the death of a loved one. 

Janessa Mosqueda

I grew up with two very different perspectives about el Día de los Muertos. While it was celebrated by my dad’s side, my mom’s family did not really approve of it due to their personal opinion that this did not align with the church. As I’ve had time to grow and develop my own opinions, I’ve decided to embrace this holiday, considering the fact that my grandfather on my dad’s side passed away when I was very young. Although he isn’t here, it’s nice to know that we still remember him by setting up an ofrenda in his honor at my grandma’s house. Personally, I think it’s really important to celebrate the lives of those who have passed because I think it brings comfort to the family that they left behind. This is a really powerful celebration that allows us to remember those that we have lost.

The exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican art left me in awe. Death is something that’s usually depicted as something very negative and menacing, but the museum really brought out the beauty of the situation. Being in the exhibit gave me chills, especially looking at the “Memorial to Homero Gómez González and Raúl Hernández Romero” and the various ofrendas that were set up. I had never been to this exhibit before this and it was an experience that I’m glad I was able to have. Seeing the different ways that people conceptualized death was fascinating and everything was done beautifully. My absolute favorite piece was the big ofrenda (header image) that was at the beginning of the exhibit. Seeing the pictures of so many people who had passed away connected the concept of death to faces and people. This left me with a feeling of shock but also admiration for their family members for putting up an image of them. There were a lot of individual components that came together to create something appealing to the eye.

Created By
Janessa Mosqueda
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Credits:

Janessa Mosqueda Abe Morales