Colorful display to mark Día de los Muertos

Black Mountain Center for the Arts celebrates Day of the Dead with calaveras window exhibit

The Valley Echo
October 20, 2020

A window display at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts will allow the community to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, by decorating colorful calaveras. The Mexican holiday lasts from Oct. 31 - Nov. 2. Photo courtesy of Black Mountain Center for the Arts

Each year, as the U.S. celebrates ghosts and goblins on Halloween, a multi-day festival in Mexico remembers friends and family who began their journeys into the afterlife.

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, welcomes those who have passed on as they awaken to visit the living. Colorful and intricately designed calaveras are among many of the traditional symbols of the Oct. 31 - Nov. 2 holiday, and a window exhibit at Black Mountain Center for the Arts will allow the local community to join the celebration

Beginning this week, the Center is encouraging the community to contribute to its unique display of calaveras, or skulls, to join the ancient celebration, which is not only observed throughout Mexico, but throughout Central American, South American and European regions.

Area residents can stop by the the Center for the Arts this month and pick up a paper version of a calavera, take it home and decorate it with paint or markers and return it to the office. The skulls will be displayed in the front windows for the community to enjoy. The decorations will remain up through the first week of November and will run concurrently with BMCA pumpkin display.

“We wanted to create a window installation for the season that would share the beautiful and meaningful tradition of Día de los Muertos with our community,” said Lori Cozzi, BMCA’s executive director. “The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration and remembrance of loved ones who have passed away. Calaveras are important symbols to Day of the Dead and are aesthetically very beautiful with an assortment of motifs and designs in bright colors. We also like them because we love the idea of honoring and remembering our deceased loved ones and ancestors and celebrating this tradition from Mexico.”

Contemporary festivities for the holiday commonly feature people wearing skull masks and eating sugar candy molded into the shape of skulls. The calaveras are traditionally decorated with ornate flowers, animals and other symbols.

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts is open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is located at 225 West State Street. For more information call 828-669-0930.