Day of the Dead brought to life
By Jadyn Miyahira, Staff Writer
As Día de los Muertos 2020 was approaching, artist Ricardo Soltero and Samo’s Brown Minds Matter club were preparing for the festivity. From Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, sculptures and alters were displayed around Santa Monica in celebration.
Soltero has been involved in designing the set of the annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and several other projects around the United States. Born in Nayarit, Mexico, Soltero’s art has been popularized by his intricate creations of La Calavera Catrina using papier-mâché, which were presented in Downtown Santa Monica, scattered around the Third Street Promenade and pier.
Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, is a two day long Mexican celebration of lives lost and is believed to be a blink in time in which the dead can visit their friends and family in the mortal world. Participants will often clean and decorate the gravestones of loved-ones, create altars and pair it with food and drink.
La Catrina is a popular figure that is frequently displayed during this celebration. Created by José Guadalupe in the late 19th century, she is often depicted as a skeleton wearing vivid 19th century European dresses and Soltero managed to encapsulate her figure in several statues. She was initially seen as a political statement, Guadalupe conceiving her figure in spite of certain people he saw who relinquished themselves from their Mexican culture to seek European culture, thus her European dress and conspicuous smile.
In various locations, from the entirety of the Promenade to the pier, colorful sculptures caught the public’s eye. Figures of La Catrina in vibrant colors of red, blue, purple and green were standing tall—literally. The smallest of the sculptures can be approximated at seven to eight feet in height. However, the further to the pier the designs were, the taller they got—one La Catrina protruded from the ground at 14 feet in height.
The faces of the La Catrinas were obviously made with careful hands; her facial features were equipped with red lipstick, intricately painted patterns and her famous smile. The dresses, too, were a masterpiece of their own. Some simply with solid colored fabric, others iridescent lined with lace and painted patterns—more than enough artistry to cause passersby to stop and take a look.
Samo’s Brown Minds Matter club also made an appearance at Soltero’s showcase. Led by the club’s president, Susana Nuñez (’21), they collaborated with Soltero and the city of Santa Monica to set up altars near the art pieces.
“We decorated the altars with fruit, candles, marigolds, drinks and food they loved. It’s really a celebration of life,” Nuñez said.
Soltero and his art didn’t just impact the pedestrians who were able to appreciate it—he was able to impact a much larger community. Upon hearing that the city would highlight a Mexican artist for Día de los Muertos, Nuñez said she swelled with pride and excitement.
“Having our culture being brought to the city even amidst a pandemic made me feel proud of my culture. I love being a part of the Latinx community and celebrating these customs. This was just perfect,” Nuñez said.
The art that Soltero displayed to the city was impressive as well as thought provoking. Beyond the point of being visually engaging, Soltero opened up new conversations about this annual celebration and highlighted Latinx culture. It is not often that art demonstrations like these occur; Soltero certainly left his mark in the fabrics of Santa Monica.