LARA JO HIGHTOWER/Special to the Free Weekly
For Silvia Merino, events director for the Latin Art Organization of Arkansas, celebrating Dia de los Muertos was a family tradition all through her childhood. Merino says the annual celebration started on the evening of Oct. 31, when the family started assembling an altar or “ofrenda.”
“In my family, and this happens in most houses in Mexico, we would prepare an altar with pictures of everybody in our family who had passed away, and the food that they liked when they were alive, and we remember what they were doing when they were alive, and then we go to bed,” she explains. “We think and believe that our ancestors come through that night — the little ones that passed away come Nov. 1, and then, on Nov. 2, come the adults. So once we finish on Nov. 2, we can eat all of the food that was part of the altar. And what most of the families do is bring all of that food to the cemetery.”
The celebration, explains Merino, is not about grief. Instead, it’s about remembering those we loved and lost, keeping those memories alive by celebrating who they were and what they meant to us. Merino says her family would usually bring a mariachi band to the cemetery to celebrate.
“We have drinks, we have food,” she says. “It’s basically a party. I didn’t know exactly what losing someone meant until I lost my dad. It’s different when it’s someone who is so close to you. This makes me feel close to him — fixing the food that he liked and trying to find the cigarettes he liked, which are very hard to find in the United States. I have to order the cigarettes from Texas or somewhere else so I can have them for him. Just that preparation makes me feel like he’s going to come. He’s going to come, he’s going to eat my food, and we’re going to hug each other, at least in my dreams.”
Merino’s organization has been hosting a Northwest Arkansas Dia de los Muertos celebration for around eight years now, and, she says, it just keeps getting bigger every year. This year, the altar building by the organization began on Oct. 31 at Shiloh Square in Springdale, with the public invited to bring their offerings — photographs and/or food items in memory of their loved ones — on Nov. 2. The Procesion del Dia de los Muertos — the Day of the Dead Procession — is scheduled to begin at noon on Nov. 6 at Shiloh Square; once completed, mariachi Joya Azteca and dance company Ballet Folklorico Herencia de Mexico will officially kick off the communitywide celebration.
Joining that celebration are partners Arts One Presents and the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. Anne Jackson, Arts One Presents executive director, says it was important for her organization to continue the relationship that the Arts Center of the Ozarks had with the Latin Art Organization of Arkansas.
“We’re continuing that partnership by curating an art exhibition that will be on view at the Shiloh Museum from Nov. 6 until Dec. 4,” explains Jackson. “With this specific exhibition, we’re telling the multi-generational stories of how various generations interpret this day of celebration honoring their loved ones.”
Jackson says around 30 works of art will be on display.
“We accepted submissions in both English and Spanish, some from Little Rock as well as throughout the Northwest Arkansas region,” she says. “The submissions have been really incredible. I think we’ll have an incredible showing of artists, and the majority of them have been from LatinX artists and a few who would identify as supporters of the LatinX community — all interpretations of Dia de los Muertos.”
Jackson says working with the Shiloh Museum, the Latin Art Organization of Arkansas — as well as with Downtown Springdale Alliance and CACHE — helps spread awareness about all the organizations involved and what’s going on in downtown Springdale.
“Having the opportunity to go beyond one facility has really forged the way for the Downtown Springdale Alliance, the Latin Art Organization, the Shiloh Museum and even CACHE to come on board and figure out ways in which we can support one another and help one day of celebration help broaden the reach for all of us.”
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FAQ
Dia de los Muertos
In Springdale
WHEN — Day of the Dead Procession, noon Nov. 6; music, dancing, crafts and food, 1 p.m. Nov. 6
WHERE — Shiloh Square in downtown Springdale
COST — Free
INFO — latinartarkansas.org
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FYI
Fayetteville
Dia De Los Muertos
Fenix Arts’ Day of the Dead exhibit opened on Oct. 22, and a celebration and awards ceremony will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Nov. 6. A Day of the Dead ofrenda will be set up at Cottage Circle Gazebo directly across from the gallery, and the evening will feature a parade, led by a giant monarch butterfly and traditional Mexican folklorico dancers, from the gallery to the gazebo. Community members are invited to place objects and items on the ofrenda in remembrance of their deceased relatives. The evening will also feature traditional food and “Day of the Dead” art projects created by students at Springdale and Har-Ber high schools. Among participating artists is Isaac Helguera, whose work is pictured here. Fenix Arts is at 150 N. Skyline Drive in Fayetteville. Call 530-6023 for more information.
Day of the Dead altar 
Dia De Los Muertos Dead live again in altars, artwork, celebrations LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette (double-click to edit) This painting by Isaac Helguera is among artwork showcased in a Day of the Dead exhibit at Fenix Arts in Fayetteville. Other artists include Aaron Bleidt, Stan Dark, Fawn Wonsower-Potter, Martin Morales, Briseida “Brioch” Ochoa and Chuck Davis. Local artists Zeek Taylor and Erika Nelson curated the works included in the exhibit, and a first prize and two honorable mentions will be awarded at a Nov. 6 ceremony at the gallery on Mount Sequoyah in Fayetteville. (Courtesy Image/Fenix Arts) (double-click to edit) Calaveras — the Spanish word for “skull” — are symbols that are associated with traditional Day of the Dead celebrations. The image of “La Calavera Catrina,” which means “dapper skeleton” or “elegant skull,” originated in a zinc etching by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada and has since become a cultural tradition, worn to Day of the Dead festivities. In this photo, Elia Davis (left) of Fayetteville helps dancer Selina Hernandez of Springdale with her makeup at a previous Dia de los Muertos celebration in Springdale. (File Photo) “I think that it would be good for everybody to know that what we wear for the Day of the Dead is not a costume, it’s culture,” says Silvia Merino. “I don’t feel offended because sometimes people don’t know — it’s kind of funny that people say, ‘I want to be a Catrina for Halloween’ — but I think it’s important for people to understand that we don’t expect to see people dressed as a Catrina for Halloween.” (File Photo/Flip Putthoff) The Day of the Dead celebration in Springdale starts with a procession around downtown, ending at Shiloh Square, where music, dancing and feasting will commence around the community-built ofrenda. (File Photo) Artwork by Isaac Helguera will also be featured in “Dia de Muertos: A Cultural Interpretation of the Times,” on show Nov. 6-Dec. 4 at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. The exhibition is a partnership between the Shiloh Museum, the Latin Art Organization of Arkansas and Arts One Presents, the organization formerly known as the Arts Center of the Ozarks. The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and admission is free. For information, call 750-8165. (Courtesy Image/Arts One Presents) 
Calaveras — the Spanish word for “skull” — are symbols that are associated with traditional Day of the Dead celebrations. The image of “La Calavera Catrina,” which means “dapper skeleton” or “elegant skull,” originated in a zinc etching by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada and has since become a cultural tradition, worn to Day of the Dead festivities. In this photo, Elia Davis (left) of Fayetteville helps dancer Selina Hernandez of Springdale with her makeup at a previous Dia de los Muertos celebration in Springdale. (File Photo) 
The Day of the Dead celebration in Springdale starts with a procession around downtown, ending at Shiloh Square, where music, dancing and feasting will commence around the community-built ofrenda. (File Photo)
