Oct. 31 - Nov. 2 in Milwaukee was filled with marigolds, family photos and ofrendas — altars that honor family members who’ve passed on.
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated across Mexico and in Mexican and Mexican-American homes.
One of those celebrations happened Oct. 31 at Latino Arts in Milwaukee. It included displays of ofrendas and a performance by Ometochtli Mexican Folk Dance.
Ometochtli Mexican Folk Dance
WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez spoke to Alejandra Jimenez, the founder of dance group, and performer Alejandra Rodriguez.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Alejandra Jimenez: So we are celebrating Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, in the way that we like to do, by movement and music. So we're going to be dancing pre-Hispanic dances, indigenous dances, and post-colonial dances, which is Mexican folk dance.
And, everything is going to be related to the Day of the Dead, which is our legacy that we have nowadays. Thank you to our ancestors that have passed this knowledge through the years, and we want to keep it and pass it to the next generations.
Can you tell me what the night and the event means to you?
Alejandra Rodriguez: Well, it's a way to connect with my ancestors and also with my culture. I came here 13 years ago from Morelos, Mexico, and I was so happy that I met Ale [Jimenez], and that we get to meet, and do this together and share all our culture and experiences.
People recommended Ometochtli [Mexican Folk Dance] saying it was open, inclusive, and feels culturally on point. What do you think sets you apart?
Jimenez: I don't know if it's different from others, but I can tell you that we have passion in our soul and it's something really important. So for us it’s about sharing our culture and knowing and sharing what Mexico is.
It is the beauty of Mexico. So, we don't say that this is a job, it’s more about our love and our passion that what we are doing. If you love what you do, you just pass that love to others. And I think that is a reflection of what other people see.
Did you [Alejandra Rodriguez] feel something like that when you came to Milwaukee and found Ale’s dance group? Did it give you a sense of home?
Rodriguez: Yes, it did. I didn't know that Ale was a dancer, but we started this before COVID and now I can say that I feel like they are my family. And that I made a good group of friends here.
About tonight, are either of you nervous?
Jimenez: I don't want to call it nervous. It is more about excitement. Because if you say I'm nervous, everyone is going to start shaking. So it's always an excitement and — I don't know, when you see the audience and the music and the colors, it just gives you so much power and so much life. So...everything that I mentioned is what keeps pushing me to keep on this mission.
Because we are carrying our own history, the history from Mexico, and we are not a book, but we are dancers. And this is a way that we can share that knowledge that right now we have that responsibility, if we want it or not. But we are here and we are really proud of representing Mexico.
Thinking about what's happening in this country and visibility and sharing culture right now, what do you think that responsibility is? Can you talk more about that?
Jimenez: I think our role nowadays is really important because it is actually one of our missions, our mission is to foster Mexican culture and also to make a multicultural understanding. So sometimes when we don't know other cultures, we don't care about it or we don't see the beauty of other cultures. So this is a way to share and to let the people know what Mexico brings to the world.
Dia de los Muertos ofrendas exhibit
Oct. 31 was a huge night for Latino Arts for a couple reasons. One, because it was Ometochtli’s concert. But, it was also the opening reception for its Day of the Dead ofrendas exhibit. The gallery was filled with different altars honoring loved ones and paying tribute to people and places across the city and state.
Melanie Ariens, artist and the creative arts manager for Milwaukee Water Commons, explained: "We've always wanted to make an ofrenda to water as part of this show. And [Carmen Aguilar, scientist at UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences] always wanted to do something artsy instead of so sciencey. So we combined arts and science and made an ofrenda with diatoms, which is like the smallest little microscopic thing in the water."
"That's a very important part of the food web," Ariens said. "Our idea was that if we're taking care of the smallest, most important part of the food web, we are taking care of ourselves. Because if they're healthy, we've got healthy water for ourselves."
Carmen Aguilar, scientist at the School of Freshwater Sciences, said, "I'm from Mexico City, so I grew up making ofrendas that are about family and such. And, Melanie [Ariens] has been very inspirational on how you connect with the water."
"One of the things in the lake is that there have been species that have been lost and come and gone," said Aguilar. "And as you know, there's a lot of shipwrecks and a lot of people have lost their lives as well in the lake. So it's really important to not only think about the aspects of food ways, but the human aspect and how people in the past really went out of their way to go into the middle of the lake and gave everything."
Izzi Buikus, middle school art teacher at the University School of Milwaukee explained another ofrenda: "We made 62 book nooks that were put together by the fifth grade students. So we actually created a little bit of a Narnia moment with two rows of bookshelves facing each other that have a black draping over it. That really kind of creates in itself a nook for you to experience."
