Kathleen Starita (Kstar Photography) / Courtesy of La Onda
Catrinas (glamorized skeletons) will mingle with the living at the day of the dead celebration on Saturday and Sunday at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the University of Memphis.
On American television, the association of "Day of the Dead" and Halloween weekend is usually a reference to a broadcast of director George Romero's 1985 zombie sequel.
In Mexico and in Hispanic communities in Memphis and elsewhere, however, the day of the dead -- el dia de los muertos -- is a holiday that honors the souls and memory of departed loved ones.
Traditionally celebrated in connection with the Catholic holy day of All Saints' Day (Nov. 1), the candy skulls, capering catrinas (glamorized skeletons) and elegant ofrendas (decorated altars) of el dia de los muertos manifest themselves Saturday and Sunday in free events at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the University of Memphis Art and Communication Building.
Saturday, the Brooks Museum hosts a wide range of lively Day of the Dead activities, to complement the student-created ofrendas on display in the Education Gallery.
And Sunday, Latin dance, music and theater performances take place at the U of M, in connection with a weekend display of elaborate community-created ofrendas.
Karleen Gardner, curator of education at the Brooks, said the museum has hosted some sort of Day of the Dead event for more than 10 years, but interest has increased greatly in the past few years.
"With the growing Latino population, we are really trying to engage a new audience and a growing audience, as well as to educate the rest of the community," she said.
"We're going to have a lot of skull faces," said Rafael Figueroa of Danza Azteca Quetzacoatl de Memphis, a troupe scheduled to perform at both locations.
Named for the feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, Danza Azteca aspires to re-create the traditional dance and music of the Aztec people who dominated Mexico and much of Central America from the 14th to the 16th centuries, before the arrival of the Spaniards.
This weekend's dances will offer a dramatic sort of pantomime, to represent the weird figures that might greet a new soul as it crosses from the world of the living into the land of the dead.
The 14 Danza Azteca members perform in mostly handmade costumes that are as authentic as possible, Figueroa said. But the authenticity has limits: Because parrots and other exotic bird species are endangered, dyed duck feathers are used instead of the naturally colorful feathers the Aztecs preferred.
Seeds -- nature's beads -- are strung and worn by the performers, so when the dancers shake, "they sound like rattlesnakes," Figueroa said.
Despite the ubiquity of spooky skeletons in Day of the Dead celebrations, the events are family-friendly. Figueroa -- a political cartoonist for La Prensa Latina, the local Spanish-language newspaper -- said the festivities introduce Hispanic young people to traditions that otherwise might be forgotten, while reinforcing ideas of cultural identity for adults.
But the celebrations also expose Latin arts and traditions to the African-American and European-American communities that make up the majority of the Mid-South's population. About 52,000 Hispanics live in Shelby County, according to Washington's Pew Hispanic Center.
"We have a mission to display our culture and heritage to the people here," said Figueroa, 37, a native of Cuernavaca, Mexico, who has lived in Memphis 14 years. "We are not only construction workers."
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Dia de los Muertos: Day of the Dead Community Celebration
Admission is free to all events.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Overton Park
All events are on Saturday:
10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Hands-on art-making, including "sugar skull" face-painting; animated film screenings; music from Mariachi Guadalajara.
10:30 a.m. and noon: Bilingual performances from Cazateatro, starring Calavera Catrina.
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Drop-in workshop on papel picado, the art of cutting and perforating paper.
1 p.m.: Dance performance featuring Danza Azteca Quetzalcoatl.
University of Memphis Art and Communication Building, 3715 Central
11 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: Display of ofrendas (altars decorated to honor and please returning souls).
1-5 p.m. Sunday: Performances by Cazateatro, Las Palomas Mariachi Band and Danza Azteca.
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