What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1423880
LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette F or Silvia Merino, events director for the Latin Art Organization of Arkansas, celebrating Dia de los Muertos was a family tradition all through her childhood. Merino says the annual celebration would start on the evening of Oct. 31, when the family started assembling an altar or "ofrenda." "In my family, and this happens in most houses in Mexico, we would prepare an altar with pictures of everybody in our family who had passed away, and the food that they liked when they were alive, and we remember what they were doing when they were alive, and then we go to bed," she explains. "We think and believe that our ancestors come through that night — the little ones that passed away come Nov. 1, and then, on Nov. 2, come the adults. So once we finish on Nov. 2, we can eat all of the food that was part of the altar. And what most of the families do is bring all of that food to the cemetery." The celebration, explains Merino, is not about grief. Instead, it's about remembering those we loved and lost, keeping those memories alive by celebrating who they were and what they meant to us. Merino says her family would usually bring a mariachi band to the cemetery to celebrate. "We have drinks, we have food," she says. "It's basically a party. I didn't know exactly what losing someone meant until I lost my dad. It's different when it's someone who is so close to you. This Dia De Los Muertos Dead live again in altars, artwork, celebrations OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 6, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 3 COVER STORY See DOTD Page 4 This painting by Isaac Helguera is among artwork showcased in a Day of the Dead exhibit at Fenix Arts in Fayetteville. Other artists include Aaron Bleidt, Stan Dark, Fawn Wonsower-Potter, Martin Morales, Briseida "Brioch" Ochoa and Chuck Davis. Local artists Zeek Taylor and Erika Nelson curated the works included in the exhibit, and a first prize and two honorable mentions will be awarded at a Nov. 6 ceremony at the gallery on Mount Sequoyah. (Courtesy Image/Fenix Arts)