The rhythmic pounding of drums pierced the air around us. A man blared his horn, more reminiscent of the feasting call than Dia de los Muertos. The woman calls the spirits with a sound akin to a child’s shriek; the dead have returned.
Children, dressed as the deceased, move to the pounding rhythm of the drummers while a crush of people look on in bemusement.
It was time for the adults to join.
The searing hot sun, feeling only feet away on this impossibly warm November morning, beat down on the bare skin of the dancers performing in front of the Museum of Latin American Art. Its life-giving rays contrasted with the scene in front of us, a celebration of the dead.
A procession led from the front doors of MOLAA to the sculpture garden through the center of the museum. Altars honoring the dead lined the halls on either side. A throng of living moved past the elements of death.
Paintings commissioned for the event stood next to altars. They depicted beautiful women, covered in traditional calavera-style make-up that evinced a panoply of colors at-odds with the typical depiction of death, black.
“Dia de los Muertos is an indigenous tradition,” said Sandra Acosta, who built an altar featured in the gallery. “People forget that Latinos […] and Mexicans are indigenous and very much a part of the traditions that have been here for thousands of years.”
Sandra Acosta, a founding member of the Protectors of Earth Mother, or POEM, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of native people all over Latin America, spoke on the similarities between all Latinos and Hispanics. Dia de los Muertos, which is a Mexican holiday, is a celebration more related to the indigenous aspect of Latino history than many realize. Her altar featured pictures from Machu Picchu, along with other ancient structures across the Americas.
Acosta’s altar shared a space with another piece dedicated to the late Mexican pop star Selena. White paper flowers adorned the wall showing the graphite illustration of Selena, cradling the star in a gentle bed of flora reminiscent of her hit “Como Una Flor.”
The event, in addition to featuring altars created by Long Beach artists, had several areas dedicated to family events centered on Day of the Dead. Hundreds upon hundreds of people filled the wing of the museum that bordered the sculpture garden. Here, children learned to draw, they had their faces painted and they were taught the meaning of Day of the Dead.
“The day of the dead is two fold, […] there is a spiritual side and the tradition. On the other you have a playful side, the party side,” said Nalini Elias, Education Programs Coordinator at MOLAA. “It could mean two things: getting in touch with your roots, or it could mean… a fun holiday for children where they get to decorate sugar skulls and dress up as Calaveras.”
Not far from where Prendez was set up, just outside the sculpture garden, an opera singer belted out a song that danced through the air and into the hearts of anyone who could listen. Hundreds of people stood in front of the woman, captivated by the power of her angelic voice. Not all knew what she was saying, but everyone knew what she meant.
“It’s a day where you remember those that passed away,” said Jake Prendez, 39, a Highland Park resident and artist. “It gives us a great way to celebrate… every year you lose somebody.”
Prendez added, “It’s kind of a conversion of Mex-Americana, a blending of Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos. We’re Chicanos, we grew up here. It’s a thin line.”