Abstract
Since the early 1970s in the U.S. altarmaking returned to popular awareness among Mexican American/Chicanx people. Artists created altar installations in community galleries specifically to honor the deceased and teach about the lost tradition of Days of the Dead and the recovery of hidden family histories. Forces of assimilation in the U.S. had prevented the tradition of altar making from being passed on inter-generationally. The reclamation of “religión casera” or home-based religious and spiritual practices was revived and impacted Chicanx spiritual practices beyond institutionalized religion. Today, the home altar is a central signifier of Chicanx spirituality. For women raised in patriarchal religions such as Catholicism, the freedom to create sacred space in one’s home offers autonomous religious authority beyond the confines of ecclesial standards. Altar makers hold the freedom to design and create the home altar according to their personal aesthetics using symbols imbued with meaning. Home altars now transcend the privacy of the home and are now created in public spaces. The altar installations of internationally renowned artists, Amalia Mesa-Bains and Ofelia Esparza, receive special attention in this paper as well as the creations of community artists primarily based in California. Fifty visuals accompany the study. This research defies the commercialization of Día de los Muertos in the U.S. as popular culture commodifies the symbols and activities representing the honoring of the deceased.
Presenters
Lara MedinaProfessor, College of Humanities/Chicana and Chicano Studies, California State University, Northridge, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
SPIRITUALITY, IDENTITY, CULTURE, SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, POPULAR CULTURE, COMMODIFICATION, ART, COMMUNITY
