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Cartonería Artists featured at Fruitvale Día de los Muertos CelebrationMari Pongkhamsing, Archivist/Special Projects Coordinator, ACTA
Kim Alcala’s altar entitled “Color, Creatures, and Beauty” which On Sunday, October 31, nearly one hundred thousand people gathered in Oakland's Fruitvale district to celebrate Día de los Muertos, an observance, traditionally celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, which honors and celebrates loved ones who have passed away. The Fruitvale festival, produced by the Spanish Speaking Unity Council, featured a variety of artists including Aztec dancers, Mariachi musicians, and Ballet Folklorico performers but the focal point of the event was the altars created by students of Rubén Guzmán. The Spanish Speaking Unity Council received funding through ACTA's Folk and Traditional Arts Mentorship Initiative to contract Mr. Guzmán to teach ten emerging artists cartonería (the art of Mexican paper sculpture). Guzmán's students were a diverse group of promising artists chosen from the local community who demonstrated great enthusiasm and commitment to the project. They learned about the history and meaning of Día de los Muertos and created their own altars which were displayed in the recently completed Fruitvale Village pedestrian plaza. This was the first time that many of the students had the opportunity to exhibit their artwork in a public setting. The altars drew large crowds of interested festival goers who were able to closely examine the artwork and talk with some of the artists themselves.
Marcus Cordero’s altar entitled “Desaparecidas” dedicated to the Rubén Guzmán's students used cartonería to create sculptures of friendly skeletons performing daily tasks such as cooking meals, or lifting weights. For Día de los Muertos, cartonería artists traditionally create skeletons that are engaged in lively scenes so that the dead can be remembered as they were in life. The skeletons are not morbid but cheerful because people feel happy that their loved ones will return and spend the day with them. Ruben Guzman studied cartoneria with Ricardo and Leonardo Linares in Mexico City and he has been dedicated to sharing the skills that he learned from them with the next generation. The Linares family is well known internationally for their sculptures of animated skeletal figures and mythical creatures called alebrije. Pedro Linares first created alebrije paper sculptures in Mexico City in the 1940s and his sons adopted the tradition, creating a popular and distinct Mexican art form, although the tradition of making papier mâché skeletons, often engaged in comical activities, is much older and widespread throughout Mexico. Some of Guzman’s students were inspired by the alebrije sculptures made by the Linares family, and created dragons and other imaginative creatures in addition to skeletons. Altars are traditionally set up in people's homes, honoring friends or relatives who have recently died. Guzmán's students dedicated their altars to important people in their lives who had passed away but many of the artists also used their public displays to convey contemporary concerns. The artists dedicated altars not only to departed parents and friends but also to women who had disappeared from the Mexico-Texas border region, to struggling low wage workers, and to victims of youth violence. Tara Ray, an artist who used cartonería for the first time in this project, created a pair of bride skeletons and a pair of groom skeletons as her centerpiece. She dedicated her work to the ideal of "equal rights for all" and used her altar to remember victims of hate crimes. Her cartonería sculptures depicting gay and lesbian marriages conveyed her hope for civil rights. All of the altars were very moving because the artists dedicated their work to people and issues that were deeply meaningful to them.
Cartonería bride skeletons by Tara Ray from her altar entitled In addition to cartonería sculptures, the altars at the Fruitvale festival included many other traditional offerings. Flowers, especially yellow marigolds were abundant. Fruit and pan de muertos (bread of the dead) was offered so that the spirits of the visiting dead could consume the essence of the food. Papel picado banners (Mexican cut paper), paper flowers, photographs of the deceased and of favorite saints, and candles also adorned the altars. In these altars traditional elements blended with contemporary interpretations to create beautiful displays which thousands in the community enjoyed. View a gallery of photographs taken by Mari Pongkhamsing at the festival.
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