Día de los Muertos is coming to the Longwood Art Gallery on the Grand Concourse next month.
The gallery, located at Hostos Community College, will celebrate the holiday that is often called the Mexican Halloween with the exhibition Camino a Mictlán, from Oct. 4 – Nov. 3. The show will feature authentic altars to the departed and a variety of fanciful skeletons and decorated skulls.
The Longwood Gallery, a collaboration between the Bronx Council on the Arts and Hostos, prides itself on bringing local and alternative art to life. The gallery’s exhibitions regularly feature works from Bronx residents, people of color, women and LGBT+ artists, and are held throughout the college’s academic year.
Camino a Mictlán will give the Bronx an authentic experience of el diá de los muertos – Day of the Dead. Each fall across Mexico, streets become filled with vibrant colors, skull-painted faces and ceremonial “ofrenda” altars filled with flowers, candles and photographs of deceased loved ones. These ofrendas are not meant to be morbid, but a loving tribute to lost family members.
Artist Daniel Valle, who was born in Mexico City but has spent most of his life in New York City, is curating the exhibit. In addition to the altars, which are authentic Mexican ofrendas, large sculptures and masks created by Valle will adorn the gallery’s walls and floor space.
Ancient Aztec mythology will also be represented in a separate area of the gallery, with Valle creating an installation of “El Inframundo” (The Underworld) featuring numerous sculptures of pre-Hispanic gods.
“Art has been the only way to express myself amply,” Valle said. “I always feel the need to share, revive, preserve, continue and innovate the traditions from my country that make me the person that I’m today.”
The opening event for the Camino a Mictlán exhibition will take place on Oct. 4 from 6-8 pm at 450 Grand Concourse (off 149th Street on the campus of Hostos Community College/CUNY) in the Bronx.
The gallery is free and open to the public every Tues-Fri from 12-6 p.m, with Saturdays also open during the month of October. For more information call (718) 518-4455 or visit Hostos Center at www.hostoscenter.org.
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