DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS 2020

Altars are a crucial part of Día de los Muertos. Photos and items representing the dead are placed on the altar to welcome their spirits. Photos, books, or a favorite object may also be included to make the spirits feel welcome. The items selected make each altar a unique expression of the person being honored.

Mexican Americans in the Southwest carried on the tradition of visiting gravesites and building ofrendas in their homes for centuries. Then, starting in the 1970s, public celebrations of Día de los Muertos began appearing in Latinx communities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, with Sacramento and San Diego soon following.

During the Chicano civil rights movement, artists at Self Help Graphics in East LA and at Galería de la Raza in San Francisco recreated the tradition. For them, it was a way to honor the dead as well as to protest and mourn during the Vietnam War. Workshops creating art for the celebration provided a means to resist oppression.

San Diego artist David Lozeau has a quirky style that blends elements of Mexican folk art, 1950s cartoon animation, and tattoo design. Blending fine art technique with illustrative humor, he reveals his own unique perspective on life and death.

Band on the Run
David Lozeau

“This piece captures the whimsy that permeates the Dia de los Muertos celebration. I can almost hear the band members sharing stories about their uncles and grandmothers as they pedal through town on their way to perform at their family altar.” - David Lozeau

Tree of Life
David Lozeau

“This piece is a nod to traditional Mexican folk art with the depiction of the Tree of Life, but also has a cheeky musical twist to it. I wanted to show that, while the musician has passed on, he is a part of the tree and forever passing on his song to the birds that inhabit it.” - David Lozeau

Arizona native and longtime Sacramento resident John S. Huerta became interested in Dia de los Muertos art when his sister and mother passed away 20 years ago. His colorful and vibrant pieces depict his loved ones and people who have been sources of inspiration.

Phoenix
John S. Huerta

“My inspiration for this piece was being born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and rising up from difficult situations. There is a Phoenix bird tattoo on her shoulder. I chose warm colors to represent the sun and ‘the valley of the sun,’ the Phoenix area.”
-John S. Huerta

Amor
John S. Huerta

“My inspiration for this piece was Frida Kahlo, with her electric personality and creative spirit. She is a big inspiration in my life with her expressive works. I feature people in my art who have inspired me. I enjoy most the spiritual connections we have with one another.”
- John S. Huerta

Sacramento artist Rob-O began to embrace Día de los Muertos traditions after his mother passed away. He loves to inspire young people, and he offers workshops that not only teach how to make a sugar skull, but also help to preserve Mexican traditions.

DIA
Rob-O

Sugar skulls are popular symbols of Dia de los Muertos. This celebration piece embodies the Aztec culture with the complex headdress, colorful chestpiece and signature sugar skull style of artist Rob-O. A total of 97 individual pieces make up this massive work measuring 48” wide.

MIJA
Rob-O

This massive, 35 lb. work of art is a version of a traditional sugar skull with the royal icing and crown of roses. "When Mija joins the celebration, you can’t help but feel the spirit of this amazing holiday. It brings me great joy to share her with the community."
- Rob-O

Chicano artist and professor Francisco Franco has been painting professionally for over 20 years. Also an accomplished muralist, Franco’s work adorns many public and private spaces across Northern California.

La Catrina
Francisco Franco

Franco depicts Frida Kahlo and references Catrina, a high-society skeleton in a 1910 etching by José Guadalupe Posada.

"The painting is a reminder that all is transient, as she smiles because she knows life is short and should be lived fully, not taken too seriously. For Death smiles at us; all we can do is smile back.”
– Francisco Franco

Frida de los Muertos
Francisco Franco

"The Day of the Dead message of embracing both life and death is presented by Frida's enigmatic gaze as she removes the mask of death. Contrasting symbols of wealth, ephemerality and death invite you to join her in contemplating life’s vanity; the transience of life and the certainty of death."
– Francisco Franco

Oscar Magallanes is based in southern California and leads a collective that creates art to address social inequities. His art is influenced by his upbringing in one of LA’s Mexican American barrios. Created in an era of rising xenophobia, his recent work confronts fear of the “other.”

Flores Para Juarez
Oscar Magallanes

“The piece pays homage to women murdered in Juarez, Mexico since the 1990s. I hoped to raise awareness of one of the worst humanitarian crises in North America. Juarez is just south of El Paso, Texas, with most killings due to drug cartels fighting over control of a port of entry supplying the demand for illicit drugs from the U.S.” – Oscar Magallanes

Self Portrait As A Deer
Oscar Magallanes

“Asked to create an exhibit centered around Dia de los Muertos, I decided to create the works from a worldview that does not separate humans from nature. I titled the series Animism and sought to pay homage to the nature that lay buried under the city concrete and to draw the connection between us and the native flora and faunae.”
– Oscar Magallanes