Each year, the non-profit organization Casa Circulo Cultural holds a huge Day of the Dead celebration in Redwood City, and this year they took residents and visitors on a trip through Mayan culture, primarily to Guatemala.
The Day of the Dead celebration is a celebration full of life that has been celebrated for 13 years in the city of Redwood City as the biggest party of the year, said Veronica Escámez, founder of Casa Círculo Cultural in an interview with Manuel Ortiz during the program Península 360 Radio, in collaboration with Marcos Gutiérrez de “Made in California”.
During the celebration, artistic pieces referring to Mayan culture were created, work carried out by Casa Círculo Cultural in collaboration with the visual artist Fernando Escartiz.
The event, held on November 5, featured the creation of a magnificent Santa Catarina arch, which is one of the most recognized places in the city of Antigua Guatemala. The experience of the “Tuc Tuc” was also shared, a very common means of transportation in the Central American country, a kind of motorcycle taxi for 3 people.
Months before this celebration, the organization's staff traveled to Guatemala with the purpose of learning about the cultural traditions of that country and thus conducting prior research to achieve a true experience from the Guatemalan culture.
As every year, the altar contest was held, where the community participated in its creation.
With different themes, full of colors, flowers, food, art and a lot of creativity, these altars were placed inside the San Mateo County History Museum and are on display from Sunday, November 5 to November 11.
This exhibition includes a giant “barrilete” (paper kite) brought from Guatemala. It is worth noting that this type of art takes up to 6 months to be made by Guatemalan families to be used in the Day of the Dead celebration.
The kite displayed at the Museum has already flown for this holiday in Guatemala and did not break, something very common since they are made with tissue paper, which makes them very fragile pieces, commented Verónica Escámez.
“We have two barrels, one that is in the San Francisco Symphony and the other here at the Museum of Redwood City; it is something magnificent because it measures 14 feet. For people who could not enter on Sunday because there was a huge line, since the Museum reported an entrance of 8 thousand people and many had to stay outside, they can go all week to see the altars," he added. Scamez.
When talking about the kites, Verónica commented that “families make them for their dead and, in this case, they had the opportunity to meet the man who made it, his wife and his three daughters who have helped to make this work since they were little, which is made entirely of tissue paper and mounted on bamboo sticks so they can be lifted. Fernando brought it folded and when it is extended it looks like a true work of art.”
The founder of Casa Círculo Cultural, highlighted that the exhibition features two very particular altars, one was made by the sheriff of San Mateo County, Christina Corpus, while the second was carried out by the first Latina supervisor in the county, Noelia Corzo.
Anna Lee Mraz, coordinator of strategic initiatives at Casa Círculo Cultural, spoke about the altar dedicated to victims of domestic violence, specifically in San Mateo County, where, since 2022, 5 women have been added who have lost their lives due to violence by their romantic partner; and it is estimated that domestic violence affects about 10 thousand people in this county each year.
The altar against hate crimes was placed in honor of those who have died because of acts such as racism or discrimination, Mraz explained; 13 photographs of those who were killed by such terrible attacks were displayed on it.
This The moving offering is a powerful symbol of remembrance and collective determination to confront the destructive forces of hatred, he said.
It is worth noting that, after this great celebration, many more events come, including, Fernando Escartiz is preparing an exhibition where the work carried out for this festival can be appreciated in depth.
“All the textiles seen this weekend come from Guatemala. We wanted to bring clothing from that country; huipiles (traditional blouses or dresses of indigenous people and mestizos from the southern part of Mexico and Central America) that are very colorful with a story behind their creation, and we are going to prepare an exhibition so that people can see and admire them,” added Escartiz.
To learn more about the work of the artist Ferando Escartiz, you can follow him on his Instagram: fernandoescartiz.
In December, a special exhibition will be held in the Casa Círculo Cultural gallery, located in it 1900 Broadway St. Redwood City, where all of these Guatemalan clothing and artifacts will be on display, as well as the work of artist Fernando Escartiz.
Remember to purchase the printed version of Peninsula 360 Press, where you will find much more information.
You may be interested in: Winning text of the “Love Letters to my dead” contest by Casa Círculo Cultural
