One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
An Alhambra artist is helping Angelenos build ofrendas. Come look at their collective altar
Consuelo G. Flores first learned about the Day of the Dead tradition in the 1980s, at the Self Help Graphics community arts center in Boyle Heights.
(
Courtesy of Stephen Blackburn
)
Consuelo G. Flores, a multidisciplinary artist and curator based in Alhambra, has been preparing for Día de los Muertos since July.
Over these past few months, she’s hosted workshops to guide community members through the process of making altars in honor of their deceased loved ones.
The altars, also called ofrendas in Spanish, feature gifts for the deceased. Often, these gifts are something they loved when they still walked this earth — a favorite drink, or maybe a favorite food. They’re also part of Día de los Muertos, which is traditionally celebrated in the first two days of November.
Their creations are now part of a larger piece by Flores. The community altar is part of a 10-day cultural exhibition at Gloria Molina Grand Park in downtown L.A., where other artists are making ofrendas of their own.
On Wednesday, Flores will guide community members through the outdoor exhibition. She will also teach them how to make paper flowers.
The flowers are easy to make, she said. After the first few, the process becomes automatic. People start chatting.
“It's like a quilting circle,” she said. People begin to share stories about their loved ones. Strangers connect through their loss.
Sponsored message
At her workshops, Flores has taught artists new and seasoned how to make papel picado, a traditional Mexican folk art made by cutting intricate patterns into the paper.
Her small dining room is littered with art supplies: Tissue paper in bold colors. Pipe cleaners. Scissors. Glue.
Flores keeps a permanent altar for her family in the dining room. As she and the community members worked with their hands, Flores shared everything she’s learned about the tradition’s Indigenous roots.
“Everyone I've loved and lost has given me something,” Flores told LAist.
“My dad taught me how to read in Spanish,” she said. “My mom taught me to be strong. My brother taught me about social justice. And my ex-husband, who just died, taught me to really look at things through an artistic lens, and to not hold back.”
Join us!
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, artist and curator Consuelo G. Flores will lead the tour and a paper flower making workshop for LAist readers and listeners.
The event is free and open to the public.
The Ohtli Yollotl Curanderismo Collective, a Southern California-based group of healers practicing traditional Mexican Indigenous healing and ancestral medicine, will offer spiritual cleansings starting at 5:30pm.
There will also be drinks from Café Alegría and pan dulce for all. Get your free tickets here.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
