McGuffey Art Center marks 15 years of Día de Muertos celebration

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - For 15 years, McGuffey Art Center has provided a space for people to remember loved ones who have passed away while sharing a tradition rooted in Mexican culture.

The art center is hosting its 15th annual Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebration from November 6 through November 14, with an opening celebration Friday evening.

The event is organized by the LUA Project in collaboration with McGuffey Art Center, Sin Barreras, Fuerza Latina, Woven Roots Collective, and Panorama Natural Burials.

Estela Diaz Knott, one of the organizers and Director of the LUA Project, says the tradition began 15 years ago when a group of Latina women, many originally from Mexico, came together to celebrate their culture.

What started inside Knott’s art studio has since expanded into the first-floor hallway of McGuffey Art Center.

“We started this tradition here because it was one that we really missed as a community from Mexico,” Knott said.

Día de Muertos is a Mexican tradition that honors ancestors and loved ones who have died. Families often create memorial altars decorated with photographs, flowers, candles and items that were meaningful to those being remembered.

Knott says the altars can include favorite foods, drinks and music, giving families an opportunity to share memories and pass stories down to younger generations.

“This tradition is from Mexico, but other parts of Latin America and places around the world also celebrate their ancestors and loved ones who’ve passed on in various ways,” Knott said.

Visitors to McGuffey can explore the community altars and create their own tributes. Organizers are also providing luminary bags where people can write the names of loved ones, place a small candle inside and add them to the memorial.

This year’s celebration also includes an exhibition called Hostile Terrain 94, which remembers migrants who died attempting to cross the Sonoran Desert along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The installation was brought to Virginia by the Gandhi Center for Peace and Justice at James Madison University.

Created through research led by anthropologist Jason De León, the exhibition visually documents thousands of migrant deaths. It identifies where remains were discovered and, when possible, the names of those who died.

“In Mexico, people set the altars up in their home, and then they also go to the graveyards to clean the graves and decorate the graves,” Knott said.

She also described the celebration as a way for people to connect with their culture.

“This provides a really beautiful way of connecting or saying to a community that here is a place where you can come and celebrate the beauty of your culture and the rituals of your culture in a safe space, in your way, so that you can carry these traditions.”

The celebration officially opens Friday, Nov. 6, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. with music, dancing, art and food on the front lawn of McGuffey Art Center.

Visitors can also try pan de muerto, a traditional Mexican bread associated with the holiday.

Additional programming includes a Spanish-language screening of Perfume de Gardenias on Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m.

The Puerto Rican-Colombian dark comedy-drama follows a recently widowed woman who discovers a new purpose in creating personalized funerals for members of her community. The screening is free, although organizers encourage attendees to reserve a spot.

“Learn about this beautiful tradition, and honor your ancestors and loved ones who’ve passed on as well,” Knott said.

The community altars and Hostile Terrain 94 exhibition will remain on display through November 14 at McGuffey Art Center, located at 201 Second Street NW in Charlottesville.

The exhibitions are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free, and scheduled programming is open to the public.

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