September 29, 2011
When fall arrives in Flagstaff, it is accompanied by the smell of golden marigolds and sacred copal incense, stirring sounds of mariachis, tastes of tortillas and salsa, and colorful papel picado banners fluttering in the autumn breeze, all at the Museum of Northern Arizona’s 8th Annual Celebraciones de la Gente.
Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., this Day of the Dead celebration returns to northern Arizona. Celebraciones de la Gente is produced in partnership with Nuestras Raices (Our Roots), a local grassroots organization of Flagstaff’s Hispanic pioneer families, dedicated to promoting the Mexican, Mexican American, and Hispanic cultures.
This is a joyous time of the year, when memories of ancestors are celebrated and the souls of the departed return to visit the living. The Museum’s historic courtyard is lined with ofrendas (altars), each one telling the story of a Flagstaff Hispanic pioneer family. Marigold flowers symbolize the brevity of life and lend a scented pathway to returning spirits. Candles are lit for each family member who has passed on. Calaveras (sugar skulls) sweeten the tongue and mock death with their whimsy. Papel picado banners herald the celebrations. And sweet pan de muerto (bread of the dead) honors the dead.
Museum Director Robert Breunig said, “Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is an ancient holiday. It may have originated with the Olmecs, the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico. This celebration was continued by other cultures such as the Toltecs, Mayans, Zapotecs, and Aztecs.”
Heritage Program Manager Anne Doyle added, “It’s always exciting when our local Hispanic community comes back to the Museum. They bring with them a heartfelt way to express reverence for those who have gone before us, and teach us their custom of converting grief into music and dance and fellowship.”
Artists and Demonstrators
Hispanic arts will be represented by Anthony Esparza and his paintings, Gina Santi and her photography, Ralph Sena and his precious stone and silver jewelry, Emma Gardner and her paintings, Vicente Tellez and his retablos, and Araceli Gonazlez and her fused glass jewelry and accessories.
Heritage Insight Presentations—Conversación de la Comunidad
A professor at Arizona State University’s School of Transborder Studies and an award-winning filmmaker, Dr. Paul Espinosa will explore the dynamics of the U.S.-Mexico border through film. Using short clips from his award-winning documentary films, his presentation will provide a historical journey through the border region. Espinosa’s films have been screened at festivals around the world, and he has won eight Emmys and five CINE Golden Eagle awards. In 2010, he received the Outstanding Latino/a Cultural Award in Fine or Performing Arts from the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.
Retired history professor Dr. Pete Dimas will celebrate the history of the Mexican people in northern Arizona, by discussing the contributions of people who played a major role in the integration of Arizona into the United States economy through mining, ranching, the sheep industry, sawmills, and railroads.
Their stories are of survival, segregation, patriotism, and integration into the larger society. Dimas says true accounts of Latino contributions and accomplishments in Arizona are often left out of history books. He adds, “The history has been told by the ones who made the money, not by the ones who have made the money-making possible.”
Flagstaff’s own Southwest Eclectic Artists Association uses the contemporary art form of graffiti with spray paint. SEAA will again be in the Museum’s East Parking Lot, creating their annual mural with ancient and modern cultural images. The mural acts as an ofrenda or altar, honoring deceased family and friends of the artists. This year’s mural will honor Hispanic Veterans.
Music and Dance Performances
Tucson’s Mariachi Sol Azteca, a nine-member mariachi band, will provide a unique opportunity to learn about Mexico’s rich heritage of instruments and the songs they play, and hear traditional mariachi music. The roots of this musical style are folk-derived and rural, however, since the 1930s contemporary mariachi music has been an urban expression, associated with post-revolutionary Mexico City and widely considered to be the quintessential Mexican music.
Flagstaff 2011 Viola Arts Educator of the Year Sergio Padilla and Ballet Folklorico de Colores will perform three dance traditions from Mexico. Danza or indigenous dances are generally religious in nature and usually performed in community settings. Mestizo dances are also indigenous dances, reflecting European influences in either the steps, themes, instrumentation, or costuming. And Bailes Regionales or regional dances are performed by most ballet folklorico performing groups in Mexico and the U.S. They will perform dances from the Aztecs (Concheros), the Mexican states of Michoacan, Veracruz, Jalisco, and a new dances from Revolución Mexicana.
Los Compadres is a local community conjunto or small group, which has been playing familiar Mexican root music for the last 30 years in Flagstaff. Herman Ulibarri plays lead guitar, Frank Martinez plays trumpet, Manny Ulibarri plays guitar, and rhythm guitarist Jesse Rodriguez sings old favorite songs with bass guitarist Trini Logan.
Poco de Todo or “a little bit of everything” plays favorite Mexican oldies. Flagstaff locals Ruben and Robert Hernandez get together with cousin Manuel “Chuco” Jaramillo and friends Jesus “Chewy” Hernandez, Tony Armijo, and Anamarie Ortiz to form this talented group.
La Cantadora Alena Chavez from Flagstaff will be singing Tejano (or Texano, a term used to identify a Texan of Mexican heritage) songs.
Other Festival Activities
This year’s NAU Cline Library Special Collections and Archives exhibit is titled Walking through Time, about people and places in the early Southside Hispanic Community. Visitors will have a chance to participate in this exhibit, by helping to name unidentified individuals in photographs that were found in a trash bin of the historic Tourist Home, built in 1926, on South San Francisco Street.
Also this weekend, visitors can take part in a sugar skull making and decorating workshop, Lupe Anaya and her La Llorona storytelling, a papel picado workshop to make the colorful cut paper decorations, and face painting.
Nuestras Raices creates a community ofrenda each year and invites visitors to bring photos and mementos of their loved ones to contribute to this special place of memory and reverence. Nuestras Raices will also be a presentation about Dia de los Muertos traditions and the preparation of ofrendas.
A Piñata for Pepita puppet show by Museum docents will entertain youngsters of all ages. In the story, Pepita is visiting from Mexico on her birthday. Her abuela (grandmother) is not sure what present to give her. Will she give her a bag of wool? Seeds? Bones? Find out what the perfect gift is for Pepita.
At Creative Corner both days, creative people of all ages will enjoy making colorful Hispanic take-home paper flowers, Day of the Dead masks, and skeleton puppets.
Schedule of Performances and Activities
Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30 (times subject to change, see musnaz.org for updates)
Ballet Folklorico de Colores 9:30–11 a.m.
Dr. Paul Espinosa 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Alena Chavez 11–11:30 a.m.
Poco de Todo 12–2 p.m. on Saturday only
Los Compadres 12–2 p.m. on Sunday only
Dr. Pete Dimas 1:15 p.m.–2:15 p.m.
Mariachi Sol Azteca 2:30–3:15 p.m. mariachi instrument workshop
3:30–4:30 p.m. mariachi performance
Closing Ceremony 4:30–5 p.m. on Sunday only
Sponsors of the 2011 Celebraciones de la Gente
This year’s festival is sponsored by the Arizona Commission on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; Arizona ArtShare; Arizona Humanities Council; City of Flagstaff/BBB Revenues; Flagstaff Cultural Partners; Coconino County Board of Supervisors; Salsa Brava; and the Fred Nackard Company.
MNA’s Heritage Program
At the base of the San Francisco Peaks—an integral part of the Colorado Plateau’s spiritual landscape—the Museum of Northern Arizona’s four annual festivals highlight the region’s cultures. These gatherings encourage communication and the exchange of ideas between visitors, educators, and artists.
The Museum is located three miles north of historic downtown Flagstaff, on Highway 180. It is open daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $7 adults, $6 seniors (65+), $5 students, and $4 children (7–17). For more information, go to musnaz.org or call 928.774-5213.
Become a member today, in time to attend the Celebraciones de la Gente Members’ Preview. Flagstaff’s Mariachi Diamante will perform, the courtyard ofrendas will be lit, a craft table will engage creative visitors, and a silent auction will be held, with proceeds to go to Nuestras Raices, all on Friday evening, August 6. For more information, go to musnaz.org or call 928.774-5213.