Dia de los Muertos

Daily Dhamma We experience three deaths. The first is when we die. The second is when we are buried. The third is when we are forgotten. ~ Unknown

This is the altar me and my friends had on display at the Bakersfield Museum of Art at last year's Dia de los Muertos celebration. There were several altars on display and I think I can say without too much bias that ours was as good or better than any of them.

The experience was cathartic, healing, emotional, transformational, fun, and exhausting. Every item on our altar has a story.


Day time view right after we finished setting up the altar and before the exhibit opened.


Night time view with the crew behind the altar.





From the top left, this mini altar has an old Tonka earth mover I found at a second-hand shop. My dad was a heavy equipment operator, so I thought it appropriate to show him getting up on one. Notice the little red bandana around his neck. Dad was a hard worker, but he was also a boozer, so I added an airline size bottle of whiskey.

Below, inside the box, are a photo of Mom, Dad and my brother, Butch, together with a small bowl of candy (we are all candy eaters in my family), and little skeletons of my brother with Mom at his side. The right-hand photo shows a close up of Mom and Butch that I took at the house before putting them on the altar. Notice her little skull purse. Mom liked to shop. Butch is reading a newspaper. I thought it appropriate to place them together because Butch was Mom's favorite.

The bottom photo shows the mini altar to all our lost critters: Ginger, Rusty, Toke, Blade, Trouble, Stella. On the top of the altar is the little fish pond for my friend's lost koi and several small "street dogs" to represent all the lost and abandoned dogs. At the foot of the altar is a small bowl of kibble.