OPENING RECEPTION:
SATURDAY, October 26, 2024
4:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.

Exhibition dates: October 7, 2024 - November 15, 2024
Community Altar by Emilia García (burntortilla.com)

Ya vienen las mariposas
​by Humberto “Beto” Delgado

The “Ofrenda” or Altar de Muertos is a traditional visual representation and celebration of life of those who have departed ahead of us. The visual imagery depicted in Ya vienen las mariposas (Here Come the Butterflies) combines different aspects of Perépecha storytelling (Indigenous people of Michoacan), popular Dia de los Muertos  imagery and symbolic and religious aspects of a four-tier Dia de los Muertos ofrenda. In the legend of La Parákata (Monarch butterfly), the Perépecha people give meaning to the annual journey of Monarch butterflies from North America to the sacred pine forest of Michoacan, Mexico.  According to legend, The Perépecha decided to travel south in search of a better and warmer place to live and go on a strenuous journey to find their new home. Along the way, the young and elders cannot complete the journey and the community is faced with the difficult task of leaving them behind. They are left under the care and custody of their Moon deity, Nana Cutzi, who watches over them and helps them rejoin with their loved ones. The elders and the young, tired and cold, covered themselves with pollen and natural resin to keep warm as they see their end approaching. Nana Cutzi decided to help them.  She turns them into beautiful Parákata, so they can fly south and meet with their loved ones once again. Today, not only for the Perépecha but for many people in Mexico, the journey of the Monarch butterfly represents the welcoming of open arms to those who have departed ahead of us and have returned to be with us once more. 

In the Ya vienen las mariposas ofrenda, the Monarch butterflies are ever present bringing with them the souls of those who we love and remember. The Catrina (woman skeleton) welcomes all those departed; almost as a bride waiting for her groom with flowers in hand and wearing a traditional skirt embroider in the style of the Perépecha. In her skirt, the four levels of the altar guide the departed. On the ground, a stone path and candles guide the departed from the underworld to enter the home, on the first levels representation of the earth continue their guidance with representation of those things given to us by the earth: flowers, bread, fruits. The third level up, represents “purgatory”, or the physical, mental and spiritual journey we take to live our lives in harmony, peace, and cleanse ourselves. This is done through the use of representation of our death (skulls) and the cross as a guide for our salvation. The fourth layer, signifies heaven and the divine. It is represented by the acceptance of life and the image of a skull and/or Catrina, who reminds us that we too will share on that journey ourselves. The ofrenda brings together the different layers and combines them deeply with the basic elements: earth (fruit, stone, flowers), fire (candles), water, (tequila bottles) and air (the flight of the butterflies); to call on our ancestors and those of La Peña to find their way back home once more. This ofrenda is dedicated to Lucy Orta, Eddie Canales and other friends of La Peña who have passed this year.
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The intension of the ofrenda is to connect us deeply with our history, our storytelling, our ancestors, and to look deep inside of us to reflect on our legacy and the relationships we care and foster in our lives. As time passes, more of us become “Parákata” and it is up to the living who we leave behind to remember us and bring us back to life, not only during the celebration of Dia de los Muertos, but in every aspect of how we live our lives and the legacy we leave behind through them.
Photo by Maribel Rodriguez
​Lucy Orta
Eddie Canales
Alejandra Almuelle
​Aliento, 2024
Ceramic, PVC, Graphite
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J.C. Amorrortu
​The Messenger, 2024
Oil on Wood
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Rene Arceo
Calaca Embelleciéndose, 2015
Reduction Linocut Print
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Rene Arceo
La Ofrenda, 2014
Reduction Linocut Print
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Rene Arceo
Mestizaje, 2017
Linocut & chine colle 
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Ana Borne
Reloj Deten Tu Camino, 2024
Folk Art Assemblage
NFS
Albert Bosquez 
La Canasta, nd
Serigraph
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Cecilia Colomé
Twin Soul, 2024
Watercolor on paper (framed)
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Nicolás De Jesús
La ofrenda, 1991
Etching on Paper
NFS
Collection of Dolores C. García & Gilberto Cárdenas
Courtney Enriquez
Transformation, 2009
Acrylic on Paper
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Mery Godigna-Collet
2+1 (Series: “Roses”), 2024
Polymer clay & acrylic over gesso board, natural stone, cotton threat, pine frame
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​​Felipe Ehrenberg
B. 1943
El Gran Debate…, 2008
Watercolor, pen & ink on paper
NFS
Collection of Dolores C. García & Gilberto Cárdenas
Naxieli Gómez
Corazón de hojalata, 2024
Oil on Wood
$425
Luis Guerra
B. 1945
All Souls, 2024
Watercolor on Paper
$360
Luis R. Gutiérrez
APANOHÚAYAN: Where 
One Crosses the River, 2024
Digital Photoprint on Hahnemuehle Watercolor Paper
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Esmeralda C. López
B. 1970
P.A.S.S. (Pain, Anger, Sorrow, Sadness), 2024
Mixed Medium
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J. Salvador López
B. 1969
Fluorescent Folie A Deux Love, 2024
Mixed Media
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J. Salvador López
B. 1969
Grenade Love, 2024
Mixed Media
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J. Salvador López
B. 1969
Disrespected Popsicle Love, 2024
Mixed Media
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Carlos Lowry
B. 1953
Calavera Deslumbrante, 2024
Acrylic on canvas
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Oscar Magallanes
Untitled, 2013
Serigraph
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Julio Martinez
Sacrificio Humano/Human Sacrifice, nd
Serigraph
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Yleana Martínez
Presioné el botón de snooze eterno, 2024
Mix Medium
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Malaquias Montoya
B. 1938
Un besito para siempre, 2000
Serigraph
NFS
Collection of Dolores C. García & Gilberto Cárdenas
Fernando Muñoz
B. 1977
The Mask and the Temple, 2024
Limited Giclee Print
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Eduardo Oropeza
Hechale, 1989
Serigraph
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Collection of Dolores C. García & Gilberto Cárdenas
Cecilia Sánchez Duarte
Tzompantli de Azúcar, 2024
Mix Media Polyptych

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Pamela Sanchez
Vida y Muerte, 2024
Oil on Canvas
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Patssi Valdez
Calaveras de Azucar, 1992
Serigraph
NFS
Collection of Dolores C. García & Gilberto Cárdenas
Liliana Wilson
Niña Libélula, 2024
Color pencil on paper
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Jaime “GERMS” Zacarias
A La Floating Frida, 2019
Giclée
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