My Day in Olvera Street, Downtown L.A.

Dia de los Muertos is a wonderful Mexican holiday. There is no better place to see the traditional sights and sounds than historic Olvera Street in Downtown L.A. Olvera Street is the oldest street in downtown Los Angeles, named after Augstin Olvera in 1877.

Calle Olvera has been preparing for Dia de los Muertos for the last couple of weeks (maybe to go along side with Halloween, although the locals will remind you that it is not like Halloween at all!) with decorations, flowers, and a procession that travels down the street nightly.

The most visible aspect of this day are the calaverdas, or skulls. They take every form you can think of from sugar skulls to ceramics to paper masks. The idea is to make death less frightening and more welcoming. Dia de los Muertos is a festival of remembrance of loved ones, the enjoyment of life and the reminder that life and death are not as separate as we think they are. Skeletons are usually depicted enjoying everyday life, such as eating drinking and celebrating. A favorite (especially for my wife and myself) is the popular marriage scene.

There is plenty to eat and drink, and the environment is always fun. While in Downtown, especially in late October and November, make sure to stop by one afternoon to witness the Dia de los Muertos celebrations! Parking is only $8.00 across the street, and Olvera is located close to 101 Freeway. I recommend bringing cash for the local merchants, and make sure to buy yourself a sugar skull or two!

Olvera Street continues to be a center for not only Mexican heritage, but Hispanics from all over Latin America. This is the best place to experience Dia in Southern California! Many local celebrations occur in front of the Old Plaza Church.

Here, children from the local schools color their calaverda masks and enjoy hitting a skeleton pinata!

Happy Halloween and Dia de los Muertos! Have a safe holiday this weekend!

Exclusive Sneak Peek! DIA DE LOS MUERTOS!

The entrance to a mysterious Spanish mission on the old California
coast. The season grows colder and the anicent celebration begins...
"Dia de los Muertos"!

Creating the River Styx (First Look)

Creating the River Styx has been a great pleasure to do. As I comment
before, the river in my version is an old sewer tunnel with the souls
of the dead trapped within the pipes that run from above.
It is difficult to see, but the pipes are almost done, with slime
running down from them and faces embedded within them. Only a hand
full of pipes were PVC, while most were hand made by fellow Haunter
Michael Gilbert and myself.
Next, we'll finish up the details and add 3D effects!

Creating the River Styx 2009 (My Concept)

I had the privilege of re-imagining the River Styx from the Divine Comedy. The vision in Dante's story is a dark and muddy river filled with the souls of the dead forever trapped in its tides.

After much brainstorming, I decided to take a modern look into the river. Natural rivers are a little hard to do in the amount of space I have available (a corridor about 6 ft by 3 ft). I remembered a great documentary I saw about man-made rivers such as the New York underground tunnels and sewers. In taking this idea to our Haunt, I wanted to update the Styx and make it more relevant to today's audiences. If you look closely, you'll see old portraits of Dante's river as a homage to the original. I still wanted the souls trapped in the "river", so I designed them to be trapped in the pipes and ducts running back and forth in the sewer tunnel. Keep checking up for updates on the progress of this room!

Creating The River Styx 2009

Halloween Dominion's 2009 Haunt has many talented Haunters working on attraction. I'm in charge of a few rooms and corridors within that Haunt. One of those rooms is called the River Styx, after Dante's Inferno. I will post the progress of this room and final product here on West Coast Hauntrepreneur.

The theme of this year's haunt is Dia de los Muertos, which is a great celebration going back 3,000 years. The traditions in the last few hundred years has blended with traditional Roman Catholic beliefs and superstitions. One of the great Christian poets, Dante Alighieri wrote Divina Commedia, or the Divine Comedy which describes the afterlife as imagined by Christians in the 1300s.

In our dark attraction, we wanted to have the same blending of traditions. We began with Dia de los Muertos and as you "descend" into the haunt, you become Dante as he descends into the 9 Circles of Hell. Each Circle is designed by a different Haunter, and you will also have the opportunity experience their own unique talent and artistic expression. I was lucky enough to get the River Styx.

The River Styx, has its beginning in old Greek mythology and it is river that souls take to the underworld. In the Divina Commedia, this river is in hell and transports you to the deeper circles. The river is described as having the souls of sinners forever drowning in its deep and muddy waters. The picture above illustrates the how Dante viewed this river. Check in often as I take you down my version of the River Styx!

A Sneak Peak at Halloween Dominion's 2009!

Without giving too much away, here is a look at one of the rooms in
the 2009 Halloween Dominion Haunt! The lighting is not complete, so to
see the final effect make sure to stop by "Dia de los Muertos"!!!

I help design this room, so I hope you like the finished product!

Historia de Dia de los Muertos Parte 1 (1492 A.D.)

"Life is a dream"

During the Spanish Conquest of Meso-America, Spanish Conquistadors were astonished by a ritual performed by native Aztecs, in what is modern day Mexico, that seemed to mock death. They had been practicing this ritual for almost 3,000 years. Skulls were predominate in this ritual that lasted over a month beginning in August.

The ritual was celebrated during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli, and it was believed that the Lady of the Dead or Mictecacihuatl presided over the ritual. Skulls were kept as trophies by the Aztecs and other Meso-American cultures. They also symbolized death and rebirth. The skulls were used to honor the dead, and during their ritual Aztecs believed that the dead would visit the living again.

In this time of conquest, the cultural differences between the old and new world were experienced.

The Spaniards believed that death was the end of life, while the indigenous people saw it as a continuation of life. According to Carlos Miller of The Arizona Republic, the native's culture did not fear death, " they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake".

Similarly to the assimilation of the Celtic ritual of Samhain, the indigenous ritual of the dead was moved to the Catholic celebration of All Saints Day and All Soul's Day on November 1st & 2nd in an attempt to make it more Christian.

Special thanks to Tomascaste at Wikimedia Commons for the great images of Dia de los Muertos, a candidate for Picture of the Year 2007.

References:

Miller, Carlos (2009) Day of the Dead history. The Arizona Republic. Arizona Central, Arizona's Home Page. Retrieved on September 3, 2009

from: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html

The Pacific Coast of Mexico (2009) Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The Pacific Coast

of Mexico. Retrieved on September 3, 2009 from:

http://www.tomzap.com/muertos.html

Tomascastelazo (2007) Day of the Dead Images. Tomascastelazo. Wikimedia Commons.

Retrieved on September 3, 2009 from:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catrinas_2.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alfeniques_5.jpg