Yuma library exhibits Day of the Dead altars
Area artists are paying tribute to the departed in Day of the Dead altar exhibit that will remain in place through Saturday at the Yuma Main Library.
The Day of the Dead is actually a two-day observance in Mexico and along the border in which people pay tribute at graveside to deceased loved ones. As part of the observance, some people create altar displays in the home by pulling together photos and other mementoes of the departed, food items they enjoyed in their lives, plus flowers, candles, paper art and other items.
Six altars are on display on the second floor of the library at 2951 S. 21st Drive, in the exhibit hosted by the Yuma County Library District and Mexico’s Yuma Consulate. They can be seen during regular library hours, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For the exhibit, Gadsden artist Mily Verdugo worked with her friend Reyna Lopez to create an altar that pays tribute to a son of Lopez who died in an accident in 2010.
“We tried to have all the elements that should be in a traditional altar, (such as) bread of the dead, sugar skulls and even Cempazuchitl flowers, which are difficult to get here. We took days to put together the altar.”
Bread of the dead refers to loaves of bread that are baked in the shape of skeletons on the occasion of Day of the Dead observances. Edible or decorative skulls are traditionally made for the same occasion.
Others contributing altars for the library exhibit are the PSA Art Awakening group, students members of the Kofa High School Art Club and individual residents of the area.
Jose Antonio Larios, the Mexican consul in Yuma, said the consulate joins annually with the library in hosting the exhibit “to continue cultivating these traditions that give identity to the Mexicans.”
He added: “This is a tradition all our own, that identifies us is many ways. It should not be confused with Halloween.”