Tanya Rivera

For the Day of the Dead, I made an altar in memory of my grandfather, Agustin Lopez. My grandfather passed away two years ago and he is a loved one who brought unity and happiness to my family. I decided to create a traditional Mexican altar for my grandfather with seven steps that represent the levels a deceased must go through to rest in peace. In the first step, I put La Virgen de Guadalupe who my grandfather was devoted to his whole life. The second step consists of a mirror, a salt cross, a glass of water, flowers de papel picado, and two yellow candles and is for the souls in purgatory. On the third step, we have some copal, flowers de papel picado, and a white candle.On the fourth step, I placed the traditional sugar skulls and pan de muerto. The fifth step includes my grandfather’s favorite foods and drink such as tamales, mole, vino, and tequila. The sixth step has a photo of my grandfather along with some colorful flowers made of aserrin with some black aserrin background to serve as contrast. On the seventh step, I made a purple and yellow cross made of aserrin as well. I placed two vases of cempasuchil flowers on the sides of the altar and dispersed petals of cempasuchil throughout the whole altar which is believed to guide the spirits to the altar. Overall, my goal was to create a colorful altar with papel picado and flowers that reflected the happiness my grandfather brought to everyone around him.