MILWAUKEE — Day of the Dead, the Mexican celebration of life and death, isn’t exactly the same as it use to be, when it started around 2,000 years ago.
"But then it will be a little bit more of an artistic interpretation or it could have other elements of social activism too," Jacobo Lovo, the artistic director at Latin Art Incorporated a the United Community Center, said.
They don't have to be artistic or include social activism, but they can.
The United Community Center's annual Day of the Dead exhibit is currently on display. It shows different renditions of the traditional offertory displays, or ofrendas. Lovo said that while Day of the Dead is still deeply rooted in history and tradition, some ofrendas look different than they use to 2,000 years ago.
"We have a beautiful ofrenda created by Mothers Against Gun Violence. They commemorate loved ones of young African American males that have been gunned down in our city.”
Day of the Dead displays aren't entirely the same as they used to be 2,000 years ago. pic.twitter.com/188oKFP73l
— James Groh (@JamesGroh_) October 30, 2019
It shows that ofrendas don’t have to be for just immediate family members.
Plus, as long as you respect the culture and history of Day of the Dead, Lovo said you can fuse other cultures into an ofrenda.
"Ohana means family so why not have a Hawaiian ofrenda," as he refers to one made by a woman who is half Hawaiian and half Mexican.
It's important to note that some of these are meant to be artistic renditions of ofrendas and not to mimic the changing landscape of Day of the Dead.
However, the Mexican holiday isn't new to change. Lovo said, about 500 years ago, Day of the Dead was influenced by Christianity when the Spanish conquistadors came to the Americas.
"The Aztecs were already celebrating the Day of the Dead. Before then they had their own religious practices. When they were forced to convert to Catholicism, they had to look for ways to continue celebrating the traditions, so therefore, they started infusing their belief into what was being forced upon them," Lovo said.
And those well-dressed skeletons you may have seen? Those icons are only about 100 years old. A political cartoonist came up with the image in 1913 and published it in an independent newspaper.
"He was poking fun at the rich for being very classicist.”
Since then, it has become one of the most iconic and famous symbols of Day of the Dead.
All this doesn’t mean Day of the Dead is drastically changing; rather, it’s acknowledging the celebrations traditions and history are multifaceted. Lovo said in regards to the more modern and artistic interpretations, as long as it is done respectfully and appropriately, these alternative renditions are okay.
"If we have people who are really connecting with the idea of celebrating a loved one and paying tribute to their memory through this tradition that is something a little more beautiful and a lot more deep.”
