Lee en español “We can imagine the Day of the Dead or the Día de los Muertos like an indigenous heart under the skin of Catholicism.” This is how Mathew Sandoval, Senior Lecturer at Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College, explains the colorful annual Mexican Celebration to honor the dear deceased. The Día de los Muertos, an ancient Mexican festival with indigenous Aztec roots, is usually celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day. During these two days, people build altars or offrendas with pictures of loved ones, paint their faces with pictures of the skull, visit cemeteries with offerings of food and libations, and some even have parties to honor their deceased relatives; it’s not that much a time of mourning, but a time to invite the spirits of the dead from beyond grave to a two-day celebration of family and life with their families. But the Día de los Muertos, as it is known today, is a different holiday than the one that was celebrated in ancient times. What people see today is a mix of ancient traditions and those of the Spaniards, who over 500 years ago imposed their Catholic rites on the indigenous peoples of the lands they conquered.Mikiztli: Día de los Muertos in PhoenixRaphael Romero Ruiz and Shanti Lerner, Republic Arizona “The Mexican indigenous peoples, the Zapotecs, Mayans, and Aztecs had to convert during early colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries in order to survive in their communities,” said Sandoval. “It was like, ‘Accept Christianity or die.’ But when they embraced Christianity, they also made a conscious choice to infuse that Christianity with their indigenous traditions. ”But while history cannot be erased, a Phoenix couple has spent the past three decades making the Día de los Muertos Bring back to its authentic roots before the Spanish colonial era. Carmen and Zarco Guerrero, long-time residents and artists from the valley, have promoted the original lineage of the Día de los Muertos with their annual Mikiztli Festival. The Mikiztli Festival was held at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix on October 24th and featured music from groups such as Mariachi Rubor, an all-female mariachi band, dances from the Ballet Folklorico Quetzalli, masked performances, art activities, and food. Above all, there were also ancient ceremonial practices, such as the Danza Mexica, a form of ancestor worship and ode to what the Aztecs described as the four sacred directions north, south, east and west. The event drew hundreds of people and was Phoenix’s longest-running celebration in honor of the dead. “You don’t learn our Mexican ancestral heritage, which is so profound, in this country when you go to school, even in Mexico,” said Zarco, who is an accomplished mask maker and sculptor and who also co-founded the festival. His wife Carmen. “Our story tells us that our story began with the arrival of Europeans on this continent. Well, we’re changing that. We look beyond that. We open the book that has locked history on us and share ancient symbols and ceremonies to celebrate our ancestors in Mikiztli. ”Zarco (left) and Carmen (right) Guerrero set out on October 24th, 2021 through the Steele Indian School Park. Zarco (left) and Carmen (right) Guerrero make their way through Steele Indian School Park on October 24, 2021. Zarco (left) and Carmen (right) Guerrero make their way through Steele Indian School Park on October 24, 2021. Miguel Torres, according to Zarco, the festival’s name, Mikiztli, was inspired by a word in Nahuatl, an indigenous Mexican language that refers to the skull or the calaca in Spanish, one of the most recognizable symbols for the Day of the Dead, which is over 3,000 years old is. “We saw the importance and value of reviving and celebrating the ancient tradition of the Día de los Muertos here in the valley as a community celebration,” said Zarco. “I think we are one of the first organizations in the country to start celebrating as a community rather than an art exhibition.” Before the couple founded the Mikiztli Festival 30 years ago, Día de los Muertos was not a widely celebrated community event in Phoenix . According to Sandoval, who has been researching the tradition for over a decade, Día de los Muertos is a holiday and tradition that didn’t arrive in the United States until the 1970s. “That has to do with immigration patterns,” said Sandoval. “The Day of the Dead is truly exclusive to Central Mexico in terms of actual ancestry and tradition. If we look at the patterns of immigration to the United States, many of the Mexican immigrants who came to the United States were not from central Mexico. In other words, they never brought the Day of the Dead with them because it was never part of their Yucatan culture that started coming to the United States to bring those traditions, Sandoval noted, and he says the guerreros are some of the most important “Movers and Shakers” of the movement. In the 1970s, as part of the Chicano art movement, people like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, parishioners and activists like the guerreros began Bring the Day of the Dead back to their communities to encourage Mexican communities to reclaim parts of their culture that were in American mainstream culture was forgotten or lost in s of the calendar year, being in the United States at the only time of year when Mexicans and Chicanos and Latinos, I would say, more generally have the opportunity to gather together as a community and really To be proud of our culture, to be immersed in it, to share our culture and to share our culture, ”said Sandoval. Sandoval, who has observed and participated in a number of Day of the Dead celebrations in the United States and abroad for his research and his own cultural practice, says that many Día de los Muertos festivals have been commercialized or over the past 20 years usually have some type of corporate sponsorship. Some examples Sandoval gave were tequila companies and car companies that sponsor and brand entire events for a profit. But that doesn’t just happen in the US, explained Sandoval. In fact, according to the ASU instructor, many of the notable Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Michoacan, or Oaxaca have drawn thousands of people from around the world as a tourist experience rather than an authentic Indigenous Mexican tradition. However, the guerreros stand out. “One of the reasons I love Carmen and Zarco’s festival so much is that it’s still community-based and not necessarily sold out, so to speak,” said Sandoval. “It still has a real soul.” Many of the providers and artists who have visited the festival again and again also agree: “The authenticity and generational character of this festival really sets it apart from other festivals,” said Gloria Martinez-Granados , a jewelry maker, designer and artist who has been attending the festival for over five years artist, has been attending the festival since childhood when his parents were salespeople. The couple were hired by the guerreros this year to run a children’s printing business. “My husband grew up with the arts in the valley and around this festival and our daughter will be here today too. It’s just so touching to see people come and grow and connect with them year after year. ”But while the event is known in the community as a cross-generational event, Mikiztli has also become a meeting place for people from all walks of life. The festival doesn’t just feature Mexican dancers or strictly Mexican music or art. The couple have emphasized their event as an inclusive space for all cultures, even for some who don’t mark their calendars for November 1st and 2nd with a diverse selection of cuisines. Indigenous Enterprise will dance at the Dia de los Muertos Festival in Phoenix on October 24th. Monserrat Apud de la Fuente / The Republic “It’s cross-generational and intercultural,” said Zarco. “It’s inclusive and people always testify how beautiful it is and that’s what we wanted. The beauty doesn’t just come from the color and the costumes and masks, it really comes from the spirit brought by all these different aspects of the family, the different cultures, countries and people represented here. ”Luis Aniceto, Owner from Oaxaca Imports, a local company specializing in the sale of pottery, artwork and handicrafts from southern Mexico, has been visiting Mikiztli for 8 years. He couldn’t help smiling when he talked about the guerreros and his participation in the festival. “They are just great people who love Mexican culture,” said Aniceto. “This is such a family-oriented event, it’s free and just keeps getting better and better.” Carmen and Zarco have long promoted Indigenous Mexican and American Indian heritage, history and culture in Phoenix and throughout the Southwest. In the 1970s, the couple formed an organization called Xicanindio with the intention of addressing social issues through art and performance. The group was a collective of artists and activists from all over the valley who worked together on various projects. The group promoted their initiatives by painting murals in downtown and some reservations in Arizona, among other things. According to Zarco, every time a new mural was painted, Xicanindio held a small festival with local musicians and dancers to inaugurate it called the Cultural Coalition. Carmen acts as executive director while Zarco acts as artistic director. Today, the Cultural Coalition is responsible for hosting various events and public programs in Phoenix that use the arts to preserve rich cultural traditions and share them with audiences of different ages, cultures and backgrounds. Among the events that the Cultural Coalition Organized include Mask Alive in downtown Mesa, the El Puente Festival at the Tempe Center for the Arts, the El Zócalo Festival at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix, and the Mikitzli Festival. The Mikitzli festival originally took place in Mesa for 20 years held at Pioneer Park before moving to Chandler for five years. The festival found its permanent home in Phoenix at Steele Indian School Park in 2012. To host their events, the group gets their funding from a combination of public and private sponsorship and they also require vendors to rent booths at their festivals. That year, the Cultural Coalition received its major funding for Mikiztli from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arizona Commission for the Arts, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. They also received additional funding from the Raza Development Fund, T-Mobile, and Paramount Movies. Part-time volunteers help organize and run the coalition’s events. “Our goal is to celebrate culture and bring people together in our city parks, dance and share our diverse cultural heritage,” said Carmen. “And we feel like we’re achieving our goals of keeping the art alive in the hearts of our community by providing access to events like this.” You can also follow gannett.com or you can follow her on Twitter. Support local journalism like this story by signing up today.
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