A Rookie's Guide to Twain Country: The "ARTS" of El Dia de los Muertos

Do I love to blog about holidays or what? Halloween. Christmas. Valentine's Day. St. Patrick's Day. I'm knocking 'em down one by one. Hey, and Thanksgiving is coming up, which means that lucky readers such as yourself might be fortunate enough to read about my annual feat of getting canned cranberry sauce out of the can, still in the shape of the can.

It's a finely-honed skill.

However, I think an important aspect to note about the Southern Tier, one that I haven't touched upon so much in covering its events for extremely well-known days like those, is that it is eons more culturally encompassing than one might initially assume for a region in the thick of Upstate New York, and has a myriad of offerings that embrace the world beyond this country alone. For a prime example, look no further than The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.

The ARTS Council, in partnership with the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, is spending the rest of this week hosting events that allow the public to experience the Mexican holiday El Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead. It's one of the most fascinating celebrations I've ever encountered, and possibly one of the most misunderstood at the same time.

Here's what the celebration isn't, despite what its name might imply at first glance. It isn't a morbid or solemn affair. El Dia de los Muertos is about reconnecting with deceased loved ones, particularly through the building of altars. And these altars, as I came to discover, are not all made the same way; different regions in Mexico have different approaches to building them.

Take the two currently on display at The ARTS. The first is an altar, or ofrenda, made in resemblance of the style one would see in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico:

While here is an example of a rustic tapanaco, or table, that the Yaqui Indians from the Mexican state of Sonora would make:

Made by Mercedes Piatt.

But their purposes are the same. It's believed during the time from October 31st to November 2nd, the boundary between the living and the dead is thin, and these altars are meant to welcome back the souls of the dead to visit. Food and drink is laid out to sustain them after their long journey (and often they are the favorite foods and drinks of the deceased individuals being reached out to, the smells of which are said to guide them home). The altars also feature pictures of these loved ones and different items that may include candles, sugar skulls, cut paper decorations and more.

El Dia de los Muertos is operating on a lot of levels. The celebration has multiple religious connections; it's a blend of indigenous cultures (particularly Aztec) as well as Roman Catholic elements implemented after Spanish colonization. The at-large cultural connections that can be made to this celebration are likely innumerable; it's a beautiful celebration of those who have passed, much better described here.

Never one to pass up a chance to attempt to be artsy, I was all over making a sugar skull as a way to introduce myself to the celebration. These skulls are decorated in a variety of different ways, and can be made to look scary or funny, to resemble someone or no one. It's one of the ways that the celebration can make light of death.

It's a lot of fun being able to go to town on such a palette, and you can do so twice this week. The ARTS is hosting a sugar skull workshop from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, when you can go in and decorate your own miniature skull however you'd like.

Additionally, the Rockwell Museum (which has a ton of amazing pieces in its collection, more than worth a visit in its own right) will be hosting an altar making demonstration on Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., which will be followed by decorating sugar skulls.

The Rockwell currently has a temporary altar made of non-perishable items that will be rebuilt and replaced on Sunday by Mexican artist Leonel Rosario and his family:

The Rockwell also features a gorgeous altar that was constructed by local middle school Spanish students:

The ARTS Council, which is a service organization for artists, the public and other community organizations, is currently celebrating its 40-year mark. If you haven't been in their offices to check out what they're doing, you really should. They feature a gallery space for aspiring artists of all disciplines and always have interesting programming going on. (I find their calendar and e-mails to be the most comprehensive source to find out what's going on arts-wise locally, and well-worth checking out and signing up for, which you can do on their website.)

Stop on by The ARTS and the Rockwell this week, make yourself a sugar skull and experience one of Mexico's many rich traditions right here in the Southern Tier!