Altar review

 Altar review: Resilience in the face of adversity and COVID-19

Making a digital altar with my hardworking group was overall a great experience. I am Mexican and growing up I had always heard about the Day of the Dead, but never celebrated because it wasn’t a popular event to celebrate where my parents grew up in Mexico. However, I’m glad I have been given the opportunity to learn about this important event, and was able to virtually participate this year. I feel like I’m closer with my culture in a way, and who knows maybe in the future I will have my kids celebrate this holiday because of the powerful message that can be presented by making the altar/ofrenda. As I was looking through the altar/ofrendas my classmates made I was very impressed by all their hard work and the overall powerful message that their altar presented. One altar in particular that caught my attention is the altar about “Resilience in the face of adversity and COVID-19”. This altar piqued my curiosity because it reminded me about the article we read in class about how COVID is unfortunately attacking the Latinx community at a higher rate than other communities. I also thought it was unique how this group showed a Photo of both Vilma's Great Grandfather and Daniela's Great Grandmother and Father. I felt like this made the altar more personal, and can help the audience relate to this altar more. Having the focus of the altar be around something that is so current like COVID in my opinion is very powerful.

The Ofrenda Podcasts

 

The Ofrenda Podcast is produced in collaboration with KRVU 105.7 Community Radio and University of Washington students enrolled in GWSS 451 Chicanax/Latinx Cultural Production

Episode One

Podcast title: “Exploring Cultural Roots: Dia De Muertos” (55 minutes)

Listen to KVRU Community Radio Soundcloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/kvru1057fm-seattle/the-ofrenda-exploring-cultural-roots-dia-de-muertos

or

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AZbq4-iAVpmOvo0KwocDTis7GEZATISJ/view?usp=sharing

Through conversation with our interviewees, Edgardo Garcia and Francisca Garcia, as well as one of our classmates(Michelle Vazquez Navarro), we hear the diverse and unique experiences of how El Dia de Los Muertos is Traditionally celebrated over different platforms and families. We speak with our interviewees to explore how these traditions have crossed borders to the United States and how/if those practices have been incorporated into the Seattle Dia de Los Muertos festivals over time, Dia de Los Muertos and expand on how those childhood memories can influence their organization and visions of the Seattle Dia de Los Muertos festivals. We hope you enjoy our Show!

Podcast group members: Citlalli Rodriguez, Gabrille McDaniel, Michelle Vazquez Navarro, and Keely Rae Wolfer 

Altar Review: Remembrance of Immigrant Children

 Vilma Garcia

Upon seeing my classmates Altar: Remembrance of Immigrant Children, I really felt connected to the message they were conveying. Having migrated as a child myself, it physically hurts to imagine what parents, children, and families have gone through under the trump administration's zero tolerance policy. To think that children were ripped apart from their families, that they went through so much trauma is truly heartbreaking. Just recently we learned that some parents could not be located and reunited with their children, that thousands of children have been “lost”.  This angers me at how little this administration, this government thinks of immigrant children, children who have no fault at all, children whose only wish is to be reunited with a parent, to see a world with more opportunities. 

This altar brought me to tears for it reminded me that there are families that will never be together again. That there are children who left this world too early due to the cruelty of other humans. There are children, youth, who died of a cold... a cold, an illness we have treatments for. Should they have been seen as children, as human, as valuable, should they have received proper human care, they would still be here, not taken too early. It is very saddening to think that there are toys on that altar, toys to represent how young these souls were, toys that they might not have had in life, toys that they might have been excited to receive once they reached the “land of opportunities”. 

I am really touched that my classmates chose to remember and honor the souls of the immigrant children we have lost. It gives me hope that they are not forgotten, that their stories are still with us, and that they will someday hopefully receive the justice they deserve. Thank you.

Ofrenda/Altar Review

Liliana Alvarado Garcia -

I will be reviewing the "Remembrance of Immigrant Children" altra/ofrenda from one of our groups in the class. This altar brought forth the topic of remembering the children who had sadly died due to migrating to the United States,  or under the custody of ICE, it reminds us of the organizations that the Government has put into place to treat immigrants as less valuable with little to no human rights.  This altar was built beautifully, by placing items that one could remember of a child, for we know that the day of the dead is a time to be home with our past loved ones. By placing items such as toys, it brings the thought of a past child that when visiting the altar, would get the chance to see these toys and know they are being remembered. The other item that was placed on the altar were the monarch butterflies, which to me meant a lot, for it is a symbol of community. Community that continues to fight for each other and for their rights as human beings. The stories of these children that have passed away due to migrating through the harsh path to the United States, or even arriving here and later dying under the ICE custody, have not been forgotten, for advocates for immigrants use their stories to call for justice in reforming the way immigrants are treated here in the United States and a safer way for immigrants to be accepted here as human beings. 

El Centro de La Raza's Online Celebration Review

El Centro de La Raza’s Dia de Los Muertos Online Celebration was very touching to watch. While it’s a shame that we couldn’t go and see the celebration, I think that El Centro did a good job of curating their events online. It was really heartwarming to see the children singing a 'De Colores' a song I remember singing in my childhood.

Along with the children’s singing, the Ofrendas were beautiful. I think El Centro de La Raza’s Ofrenda for those who have died at the hands of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement really struck me. Though not all the names of the deceased could have been placed in their Ofrenda, it was nice to see how much they are trying to bring forth that those who have died this year are human beings and not just the statistics being put out by the government.

Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Luna Castro’s Ofrenda was also extremely beautiful and while it has all the elements of an Ofrenda it’s interesting that she changes how her Ofrenda is altered based on the trajectory of how the year has been going. Francisca Garcia’s explanation of the Ofrenda building was sweet and straightforward for those who may not have known how to build one.  Overall, El Centro’s celebrations were gratifying and allow one to celebrate life and have a space to heal and be hopeful for the future.

Altar Reflection

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the making of this years altars for Día de Lis Muertos. Learning about what Día de Los Muertos represents and the history behind it helped me understand the importance of the tradition. Growing up, I saw my mom's mini alters lit with candles, pictures and incents hidden in random places in our household. Some would be placed  on top of her dresser or on top the highest shelve in the closet. Although we practiced making altars, we never adopted the tradition of Día de Los Muertos. Having the opportunity to engage in this tradition was really special to me. Seeing the variety of the beautiful altars created and the uniqueness embedded in each was amazing to see. Every altar has a story and unique remembrances to their loved ones who have passed. Claudia Luna Castro mentions that her altars are made different every year such as placing different flowers but the unique part of her altar is the components made by her children which she incorporates. She also mentions the practice of cleansing the altar before lighting everything up which I thought was different and unique. I also thought it was beautiful that she wrote a poem for her grandmother. In her poem she writes, "this is why, in my altar, there's room, incense light and water in a cup" (22:07), just how her grandma taught her.  I thought the poem was a special and personal way in which she is able to communicate not just through the altar, but with the words of her heart through this beautiful poem. 

Altar Reflection - Mariana Aguiniga

Mariana Aguiniga

Altar Reflection 

Being from a traditional Latino household I had the impression that ofrendas/altars always followed a similar structure by including certain elements, at least that was something I was accustomed to seeing when growing up. I was very fond of the fact that amongst the Altars/Ofrendas that were created by my fellow peers none looked too alike. Each one took it in a unique direction, I really came to appreciate this. I wasn’t sure how this project in general was going to turn out due to the fact it was something I was used to seeing be done physically by hand however this online approach gave students more creative space to experiment with. In particular I was intrigued with the direction that Altar team 5 took this project in. For example their water element they used an image of the Rio Grande at the very bottom of the altar. As they explained that crossing the rio represents both uncertainty and hope, I think this is where resilience is introduced the risk of starting and completing this journey in aspirations of “a better life”. They also included a candle to represent their fire element, as they had mentioned “With the candles we are memorializing and morning the literal death of so many, but also the death of the lives we all took for granted, while still trying to remain hopeful.” This allowed me to think and reflect on my own life, there is more out there that is greater than me and my problems as an individual and I think that is such a significant thing to take account of.