The skulls that Ruíz López brought to the garden are made from five types of clay sourced from the hills near her town, and her mother passed down the trade and techniques of working with it. “But in the end, no one respects her, right? And in this way, well, with this great offering inside the garden and on the ground, well, we are honoring her.” “Personally, for me, the Earth is a virginal womb that everyone desecrates,” Ruíz López says. It was meaningful to Ruíz López and her family to be part of the celebration in a garden setting, she says, because we are all part of Mother Earth and it offers a tribute to her. “Her ceramics are really unparalleled,” Best remarks. Ruíz López is a celebrated artist and teacher who studied at the Centro de Artes de San Agustín and has been featured in magazines such as Vogue and Architectural Digest. They’ll also learn about the symbology of the altar, including the flowers, candles, copal, pan de muerto, and more.īest says the Garden connected with Ruíz López via a contact with the Mexican consulate, which introduced them to a curator who’s originally from Oaxaca. Best says they can print photos of their loved ones from their phone right on-site and leave them. People also are invited to participate in the mega altar. “I can’t give everything away,” Best notes, “but we will have a lot of people in costume performing and acting out traditional Mexican folklore and stories.” It’ll end at Sunset Plaza, where people can write memories of their loved ones and hang them on the “Tree of Life.”ĭuring the procession, attendees will be treated to pop-up performances talking about the true meanings of Día de Muertos. “Everybody will have a really exciting piece at the end of it,” Best says of the alebrejes workshop.Įach day will culminate in a procession starting at Ullman Terrace that winds through the trails. Saturday, masters of alebrejes art (tiny, colorful figurines) will lead a hands-on workshop. Guests can make paper flowers, decorate sugar skulls, and get their faces painted vendors will sell their wares in the mercado various dance companies and musicians will perform throughout the day and from 9 a.m. There’s a good deal of humor in this holiday that I don’t think I ever appreciated before.”Īlthough Día de Muertos is traditionally observed on November 1 and 2, most of the activities at the Garden will take place from noon to 8 p.m. You’re providing their favorite foods and telling stories about them. “Anyone who’s lost a loved one, to think that on these days there’s this real connection where the dead are invited back home. “I think it’s a naturally appealing tradition,” Best says. These are placed at an altar, often located at gravesites or in their homes.

It’s a way for people to honor those they’ve lost and welcome their souls back briefly for a reunion that includes their favorite food, drinks, and other items they enjoyed while alive. It’s been a change for us, too.”ĭía de Muertos has its roots in pre-Colombian Mesoamerica and weaves in Spanish culture and religion. “We dropped the ‘los’ in favor of that authenticity to the holiday. “We made the switch because this is how everybody refers to it in Oaxaca,” Best notes. This year, the Garden refers to the holiday as Día de Muertos (Day of Dead), instead of how it’s usually seen, as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). “It’s going to be a beautiful, saturated installation.” “All of these things have traditional meaning and symbology,” says Laura Spalding Best, senior director of exhibits for the garden. The altar also includes several hundred linear feet of papel picado, bright paper with cutout designs that are said to rustle when the souls of the dead arrive. For instance, her mother liked watermelon, so that’s included, along with sugar cane, bananas, tomatoes, and many other food-based offerings.

It features seven levels to represent the seven cardinal sins, and there are different offerings on each level. She also created elements for a giant welcome arch, including thousands of paper flowers.Īnd, she’s constructing a 30-foot-wide community mega altar - the likes of which have never been seen at the garden - inside the Webster Auditorium. Ruíz López is a fifth-generation master ceramicist who formed 200 handmade clay skulls at her family’s workshop, Taller Ruíz López, for placement throughout the Garden. The event promises to be bigger than ever after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The annual Día de Muertos celebration at the Desert Botanical Garden on October 29-30 will offer an immersive experience into the specific culture and traditions of how the holiday is celebrated in and near Oaxaca, Mexico, thanks in large part to the participation of Indigenous artist Rufina Ruíz López.

Dia de los muertos flower arch