I have watched a YouTube documentary by Community Education Television regarding the Day of the Dead celebrations. The topics covered involve syncretism, modern culture, and the Day of the Dead events. Notably, the documentary’s timeline revolves around the 1970s and highlights the fundamental traditions and beliefs of Aztec, Chicano, Spanish Catholics, and Mesoamerican people. Discussing the early Day of the Dead event, the Self-Help Graphics, and the documentary information is essential.
Early Self-Help Graphics (SHG)
To a great extent, the people of began the SHG was the Chicana artists who continued to explore Mexican-American values and cultures. Some notable founders include Carlos Bueno, Sister Karen Boccalero, Phony Banyas, and Sister Corita Classroom (California Educational Television, 2019). The SHG members acquired money by receiving grants from charity organizations. The main goal of the SHG founders was to attract and empower people to realize the benefits of art and graphics in the Chicano and Chicana communities. Considerably, the original location of SHG was at a garage, and after obtaining the capital for the actual building acquisition, it was headquartered on Brooklyn and Gage streets.
Early Day of the Dead
The three prominent individuals credited with starting the Day of the Dead at SHG were Sister Karen Boccalero, Carlos Bueno, and Phony Banyas. The film DĂa de Los Muertos by Charles and Ray Eames influenced the people at SHG with how the Day of the Dead should resemble. During the early 19th century, a Mexican graphic artist, Jose Guadalupe Posada, popularized a style related to the Day of the Dead by using calacas (skulls) in his printmaking art (California Educational Television, 2019). The first Day of the Dead date was November 1, 1972, whereby people gathered around the SHG grounds and embraced the event, resulting in its massive growth (California Educational Television, 2019). In the early Day of the Dead celebrations, the processions began at the Evergreen cemetery to the SFG grounds on the Brooklyn streets. There was the participation of the progressive Catholic priests accompanied by rituals. Some artists involved in the first Day of the Dead event were Antonio Ibanez and Carlos Almarez.
Documentary Information
The master alters builders spotlighted in the documentary include the indigenous Chicana and Chicano community artists who had experience regarding the Day of the Dead event. They are mandated to prepare meals, such as bread, to symbolize the deceased. In the documentary, there are four people interviewed. The first one is Xochitl Flores-Marcial, an anthropologist and professor at California State University (CSU), Northridge (California Educational Television, 2019). The second individual interviewed is Rufina Marcial, a traditional alter-maker. Other people interrogated include Dewey Tafoya, an SHG artist-in-residence, and Yreina Cervantez, an artist, activist, and professor at CSU, Northridge. The topics embedded in the documentary include culture, agriculture, and indigenous people, and it elaborates histories how the Day of the Dead has evolved.
Conclusion
The documentary has extensively showcased how the film DĂa de Los Muertos by Charles and Ray Eames influenced the SHG members on how the Day of the Dead should resemble. The first Day of the Dead date was November 1, 1972, whereby people gathered around the SHG grounds and embraced the event (California Educational Television, 2019). The three prominent people who started the Day of the Dead at SHG were Sister Karen Bocalero, Carlos Bueno, and Phony Banyas. The topics covered involve syncretism, agriculture, indigenous people, modern culture, and the Day of the Dead events. The SHG members acquired money by receiving grants from charity organizations, and their primary goal was to attract, empower, and educate people about ancient cultural traditions.
Reference
California Educational Television. (2019). DĂa de los muertos / day of the dead | artbound | season 10, episode 3 | KCET [Video]. YouTube. Web.