Right now, I'm still thinking of Chicana artista Amalia Mesa-Bains' comment about how nature facilitates the ritual of memory when building an altar to pay tribute to loved ones who have crossed unto the next world.
Considering what she said, I've been motivated to research the significance of altars and their central role in memory, especially in Mexican folklore.
PBS' "The New Americans" features an engaging introduction about altars in Mexican culture, which should draw an audience interested in exploring the link between the physical and spiritual through altar-making. Azcentral.com presents a concise explanation about the significance of each key element/feature in a traditional altar. For example, they explain the significance of the bread placed alongside candles, photographs and flores. Artista Ladislao Loera's "Dia de Los Muertos," an art website, features another segment about the key features of altares and some fun stuff to fuse the artistic with altar-making. My favorite website, however, is Hollywood Forever's "Dia de los Muertos" which features a contest where constestants build their own altars for premios!
Also, some very interesting journal articles have appeared in Ethnohistory & African Arts about altars, cemeteries, and El Dia de los Muertos. Stay tuned as I list them next time. Also, next time, I'll briefly comment about the online altar for Gloria E. Anzaldua.
For now, I'm still thinking about how much story is woven to each act of building an altar and to what degree this act represents the critical use of memory through nature and storytelling.
Hasta la proxima,
h
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