For Dia de Muertos, La Peña is pleased to present “Altares de Amor.”

Opening Reception: Sunday, November 1, 2015, 2:00 – 4:00 PM

The celebration of Day of the Dead — Dia de Muertos, and specifically the creation of “ofrendas”-offerings/altars. It is a holiday which focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.

Altar building is an ancestral spiritual and ceremonial practice that has been part of a large majority of cultures and spiritual traditions across time. And remains with us until this day. 

In the creation process, the altar is set as a sacred space to be, to relate, and to pray. A place of meeting and invocation, a symbolic space to express gratitude and honoring, to set intention, to give offerings, and express our deepest heart desires.  A place where we can meet ourselves with feelings of pain, grief, longing, and feeling a sense of “not being alone” of respite, of being part of something larger- whatever this might be for each of us.

This year we are featuring altars by several artists, teachers, and friends.

Mary Jane Garza created an altar honoring so many of the children recently killed by gun violence. She was deeply moved by the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. She was especially touched by a young budding artist named Emilie Parker, just 6 years-old. Mary Jane’s altar honors the young artist with a collage/portrait as the centerpiece.

Our dear friend Agnes created an altar that is a tribute to a stolen childhood to honor the losses of an abusive childhood and to celebrate survival. Agnes is a survivor of incest and childhood priest rape. This took place on her 7th birthday, January 21, the feast day of  St Agnes who is the patron saint of rape survivors.

The children of Sanchez Elementary are also featured with their artwork. Ms. Susan Holland’s 3rd grade class learned about Dia de Muertos and created  pastel drawings, collages, and linoleum cut prints.

La Peña is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, by grants from the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts, CoYoTe Phoenix, and an award from the National Endowment on the Arts, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com