Stairway to The Spirits > Creative Place Making @ MAC

Good example of how arts and culture intersect in Creative Place Making in this weekend's Day of The Dead here in the New Urban downtown Mesa at the Mesa Arts Center.
Here in a shot of the Community Altar - an ofrenda or offering to the spirits of the dearly departed by artist Kyllan Maney - that was the showpiece for all the festivities and activities attracting people to a celebration of life from centuries-old pre-Spanish cultures that thrived in Mexico and Central America. See a link below for more information about Day of The Dead

Here's Kyllan Maney again, featured in a windowfront promotion for Downtown Mesa, where she's shown working on murals inside the  Mesa Urban Garden.

Before your MesaZona blogger transplanted here in the New Urban Downtown Mesa, he lived for a few years in a small town in southeast Arizona, operating a giftshop on the weekends and Dia de Los Muertos Museum anytime anybody wanted the door open. It is recognized by the Smithsonian Institute Center for Latino Initiatives as one of the first of its kind in North America . . . fast forward to today with celebrations going on all over this brave new urban downtown embracing our shared cultures and traditions . . . CREATIVE PLACEMAKING

Don't know too much about Day Of Dead?

Here's a link to a short video >> http://latino.si.edu/dayofthedead/                 



Infographics for Day of The Dead

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) are days of celebration for the people of Latin America - that includes the big country called America -  particularly in Mexico and Central America [and north of "the border" where we share our diverse cultural heritage.
Rather than grieve over the loss of a beloved family or friend, We choose to commemorate the lives of the dearly departed and welcome the return of their spirits, honoring the dearly departed and the cycle of life and death. 
The history of Day of the Dead is embedded with Pre-Hispanic and Spanish customs.
These customs shape the common elements of traditional Mexican Dia de los Muertos. Today, Day of the Dead is increasingly popular with Latinos and everyone in the United States -- here it's been staged at the Mesa Arts Center for just a few years with an inauthentic twist: This cultural tradition is NOT A CONTEST TO JUDGE ALTARS!
Many of the traditional elements going back for centuries have remained -how and where Day of the Dead is celebrated has changed . . . there's one version here downtown.
Other Arizona cities like Phoenix and Tucson have huge celebrations and parades

More 411 > mesaartscenter.com 

 Another ofrenda - an offering to the spirits of the dearly departed to welcome them back - was installed a couple of weeks ago installed inside the lobby of the Mesa Main library.

Readers might guess this is for a writer, perhaps a novelist.

If you click and enlarge the image you will see some of the altar's details like favorite foods, and probably who this fantastical writer from Mexico is - he is enjoyed all over the world and his books have been made into movies.