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With our 3rd annual Dia de los Muertos 2023, our aim was to create a dialogue of cultural identity through community collaboration to remember, honor, and celebrate life and death. Inspired by cherished relationships and personal and/or collective histories, this practice is spiritual and thought-provoking, perhaps even transformative in that we were moved forward with forgiveness or closure. More importantly, through gratitude and celebration, our memories of our loved ones are kept alive in our hearts by creating an altar. These altars, "ofrendas," are in the tradition of ancient rituals, an amalgamation of Meso-American practice and the Spanish religion. 

 

This year, we incorporated the Catholic religion's "cardinal sins" with their Seven Deadly Sins and quotes to focus on our lively vices. Our journeys from birth to death are what make us individuals. We are influenced by our hearts, minds, and the cultures we live in, love in, and ultimately die in. We are united in our experiences of being born, living, and dying. 

 

CURATOR & EVENT COORDINATOR Magué Calanche

ARTISTS ON 9 ALTARS

Malin Alegria y Sylvia Ramirez, Claudia Portillo Vergara

Belen Lafon, Jeanne Dowd, Elizabeth Ashcroft, Theresa Lopez, Rebecca Peters, Elizabeth Ashcroft, Howard Munson, Pamela Pitt, Susan Weisberg, and Magué Calanche

 

PHOTOGRAPHY Dennis Hearne

 

MUSIC

Colectivo CalleSon , Eduardo Corso piano, 

Claudia Portillo Vergara-Cello, 

And more music contributions by:

Mauro Ffortissimo, Eric Shrifrin, Danny Brown,

Alison Lovejoy,  and more...

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Ink, pastel on paper
The 7 Deadly Sins for Macmillan Publishing

author Steven Schwartz | Available as a Set

iPad drawn with Procreate, originally drawn
The 7 Deadly Sins book for Macmillan Publishing,

author Steven Schwartz

In our second year in SunnyCo Studio Gallery, we honored loved ones who transitioned in 2022. We celebrated one of Mexico's most cherished traditions—Dia de Los Muertos—with altars, handmade installations, living sculptures, masks, music, paintings, photography, and videos. In particular, we honored the life of my niece Erin Norman Muñoz, whose life was tragically taken by a reckless car driver. The main altar consisted of a handmade crepe piñata dress that Erin had created and would have worn to this event. The third altar consisted of six handsewn totomoxtle (corn husks) aprons representing a month in the life of joyful motherhood as an homage to Erin. 

 

CURATOR & ALTARS Magué Calanche

Assistants | Eric  & Joanna Norman, Bertha & Danny Norman

 

LIVING ALTARS Julie Bushnell, 

Dan Brockmeir, Magué Calanche

Naomi Corwin, LaShaune Fitch,

David Peters, Connie Rubiano,

Sherry Shannon,

Cintia & Gustavo Vasquez

PINATA DRESS Erin Norman Muñoz

CORN HUSK APRONS Magué Calanche

HANDMADE BOOKS Howard Munson & Magué Calanche

VIDEOS Howard Munson

ACCORDIONIST Cintia Chavez

PHOTOGRAPHY Dennis Hearne

parts from paintings used for banners: ©mague calanche 2022 

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Noches Bohemias (Bohemian Nights) 2021 was a three-night celebration of Dia de Los Muertos honoring the Beat Poets with special recognition of the contributions of Diane Di Prima, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Hirschman, Janice Mirikitani, Michael McClure, and ruth weiss. We brought our North Beach community together with poetry and music in our SunnyCo Studio Gallery on 480 Francisco Street to create our first Meso-American cultural event.

 

CO-CURATORS  Dr. Martina Ayala & Magué Calanche

 

ARTISTS  Martina Ayala | main altar

Alejandra Palos | sculpture

Howard Munson | videos & handmade book

Elizabeth Ashcroft | book art

Dennis Hearne | photography

Magué Calanche | altars and paintings

 

POETS  Jessica Loos, Jennifer Baron, Scott Bird,

Neeli Cherkowski, Bobby Coleman, Francisco Orrego, Guillermo Gomez Peña

 

 FILM  Dominic Angerame

 

 MUSIC. Cascada de Flores

 

PHOTOGRAPHY  Dan Bockmeir | Dennis Hearne