DOWNEY – This October 29 will mark the tenth anniversary of what has become one of Downey’s premier events: a free, public festival celebrating the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos—Day of the Dead.

Decorated altars, ofrendas, are the defining feature of this tradition to celebrate departed family members and loved ones so they are not forgotten. Home altars display pictures of the deceased, often surrounded by favorite food and drinks and other meaningful objects. Additional adornments may include sugar skulls, papel picado, candles, and flowers—especially marigolds.

Public celebrations commemorating this tradition are growing in popularity across the American southwest.

In Downey, this family-friendly event will take up the entire Civic Center, including the Downey Civic Theatre and Library. As in prior years, the venue will be a kaleidoscope of color and sound, with art exhibits, music, dancing, puppet shows, bilingual story hours, classic cars, and visitors in costume.

“This event is all about community involvement,” says Kimmi Perkins, Venutech Director for the Downey Civic Theatre.

The months of preparation by city and theater staff “are a labor of love,” explains Perkins. “We can watch everyone enjoying themselves and know we had a part in it.”

A village is created for the day’s festivities, with a Mercado, including vendors and food trucks, and a Zocalo, with live bands and beer gardens. Logistics are handled by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

“We try to bring our community together in so many ways,” says Jason Chacon, Director of Parks and Rec. “Regionally, this is one of the best shows we have.”

Attendance estimates for the one-day celebration range from twenty-five to thirty thousand, matching that of prior years, except for during the pandemic. Chacon says an exact count is not possible because there is no single entry point for the free event. Instead, the city takes a “standing count” at a certain hour.

At the core of the celebration are the big altars on display in the theater lobby and outside on the plaza. This year the giant Community Altar will be created by Latinx With Plants. People wishing to share pictures of their loved ones for the altar can go on the festival’s website at www.ddlm.downeytheatre.org.

A Pet Altar, first displayed at the Downey festival last year, will be returning. Pat Gil, President of the Downey Arts Coalition (DAC) that helped organize the altar, said it struck a chord with many people whose pets are part of their family.

“Some people were in tears,” she said, “they loved it so much. I was really proud of it.” Gil invites people who would like to have a picture of their pet on the altar to contact her by email at patgil1031@gmail.com.

A new feature this year will be a Dodger Altar. Plans are also in the works for an arrangement of individual showbox altars.

In addition to the altars, the Downey festival is notable for the extent and variety of art presented—from fine art for sale in the theater to folk art and crafts throughout the venue, and puppetry and bilingual story hours at the Library.

Local artist Ruben Lopez will be exhibiting the Garden of Catrinas this year with ten oversized figures of female skeletons dressed in assorted finery. Lopez’s wife Livier describes the figures as creations of papier-mache and recycled objects.

“He loves doing it,” she affirms. “He is always adding to his collection.”

La Catrina, first presented as a satirical figure by the late Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada, has become one of the most famous emblems of Dia de los Muertos. She is the inspiration behind the popular face paint and make-up suggesting a skeleton or dead body.

As it has since the festival’s inception in 2013, the Downey Arts Coalition (DAC) will again be exhibiting original, themed work by local artists in the lobby and mezzanine of the Downey Civic Theatre. All of the art is for sale. Featured artists include Pinchi Michi and Ronnie Flores.

DAC will also be presenting its third annual student art exhibit on the north side patio of the library.

“These kids are our future,” says curator Eloisa Ball. “It fills me with so much joy to see them.” Ball wants the students to feel like “real artists,” so even pieces by elementary students get price tags. She said in past years the young ones were thrilled when they saw a Sold sticker on their piece. Occasionally it was a parent would sneak back and buy the piece when their child wasn’t looking, but that wasn’t always the case she explained.

This year the theater lobby will also feature artwork by students in the Downey Adult Transition program at Downey Adult School—those with autism and special needs. Teacher Tangela Diggs says the curriculum includes community-based instruction such as learning how to use public transportation and purchasing clothes in the correct size. Seeing their art on public display will provide meaningful inclusion for these students.

For classic cars lovers, the “trunk altars” will again be parked outside, along the turn-around lane near City Hall. People enjoy the cars as works of art as well as the very personal altars created by their owners.

Demonstrations and Instruction

Visitors will have several opportunities to learn techniques for creating some of the traditional art forms used with the altars.

Sisters Helen Nieto and Barbara Valenzuela-Almaraz will be providing instruction for the art of making the popular sugar skulls (calaveras). All materials are provided and participants can take home their own calaveras.

“My grandchildren are really into it [building an altar] now,” says Barbara. “I put up an altar around the middle of October and leave it up until Thanksgiving.”

Aurora Chavez will be returning to provide instruction in creating the distinctive papel picado—the colored tissue paper with delicate, cut-out designs that are often strung together in garlands. All materials will be provided, and her own work is on exhibit.

For a second year, a unique opportunity exists for visitors to chat with an artist and community organizer who is well-known in the Riverside arts scene, Cosme Cordova, as he demonstrates the art of silk screening.

Cordova embodies the sense of community and connection that is the spirit of Dia de los Muertos. He is an artist and gallery owner who organized the first Dia de los Muertos festival in Riverside 20 years ago and is also a consultant for the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture.

The first Riverside festival in 2003 was a grassroots affair – organized from the bottom up. Cordova called on some friends to gather with him in a parking lot where he had his studio, and they used candles and car lights for lighting.

“We just did it,” Cordova said when asked if he asked permission from the city or from the owner of the parking lot.

“We had one dance group and they are still with me,” he says. Cordova had two altars, one inside his studio and one out in the hall, and seventeen artists. “My mom did the cooking,” he added.

Cordova never had second thoughts about continuing future public celebrations of the holiday. His brother passed away from a hit-and-run accident and Cordova explains, “One reason why I love Dia de los Muertos is because even though I don’t have a chance to create an altar for him, I am thinking about him.”

Cordova works with the city of Riverside now to produce the festival, but he retains control because he insists that the event remain family-friendly.

“I want to create an environment that keeps traditions alive,” he explains.

Regarding his own artwork, Cordova says that “he seeks to create work that has a conscience.”

Cordova will be demonstrating the art of silk screen and giving away “make and take” tote bags with Downey’s Dia de los Muertos logo. Even those not interested in silk-screening will enjoy chatting with Cordova about the meaning of the holiday and his first experiences.

Downey’s Stay Gallery will again be hosting a free, continual watercolor workshop with everything supplied. There is seating for 20 with instruction from professional artist Polaris Castillo. Participants will be painting a mask designed by Castillo and will take home the finished mask and individual paint set.

Juliana Canty says the Gallery created this workshop in collaboration with Castillo for the South Gate Art Walk and “it is so popular we use it for other community events.” The activity is enjoyable for all ages.

Story Hour and Puppet Theater

The bilingual story readings at the Downey Library will have an extra special meaning for some people because they are being organized by Downey High graduate (2006) Stephanie Moran Reed.

Reed founded the online indie bookstore MiJa Books which specializes in books for children of different cultures and of color. Reed explains that the idea for a business grew when she began assembling a library for her daughter and wanted books that would reflect the diversity of her daughter’s background. Reed is Latina and her husband is Black.

Moran’s online business model is expanding to include bookfairs throughout the southland, and she features books from the independent presses as well as the big publishers.

The bilingual story hours are scheduled for 12:30, 1:30, 3:00, and 5:30 pm. Featured books are Skeletina and the Greedy Tooth Fairy by Susie Jaramillo, Where is?/¿Donde está? Mi Ofrenda by Mariana Galvez, El Cucuy and other Spooky Legends by Naibe Reynoso, and Domingos con Abuelita, by Teresa Verduzco.

Bilingual performances of puppet theater will present the musical Kid Zorro, set against the backdrop of Dia de los Muertos. Kevin Noonchester, who wrote the story and songs in 2017, summarizes the plot as a young Diego discovering that his grandfather was the original Zorro. The young Diego considers his grandfather’s legacy and proceeds to save the the day from a corrupt politician.

Noonchester, founder of Noteworthy Puppets, said his work with the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q “showed me that I had a knack for puppetry.” Performances of Kid Zorro are scheduled for noon, 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 pm.

More details about the day-long festivities, including music and dance performances, can be found on the website www.ddlm.downeytheatre.org.