Creation of True Love

 Last year after my Mama successfully beat 

a long battle with an infection

I happened across this discarded jewelry box at Goodwill

The monstrosity that I just couldn't set down 

I knew I wanted to use it in an homage to death because...well...it just begged to be

To recap all that I had experienced through my Mama's illness

Instead it sat for a year

Until I finally connected with anger a few posts ago

and my creativity was uncorked and the monstrosity became this

Inspired by the Day of the Dead's celebration

An homage to my brother Carlos

who at 16 was killed in a racially motivated shooting

on May 1, 1971

I lost myself in the process for a few days

Researching the history of the celebration

I was thrilled to see parallels with other religious beliefs

The complex blend of Aztec, Maya, Spanish and Catholicism

at the basis of many current beliefs

The colors, the history, the tradition engaged all my senses

as I connected spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically

I was exhausted when it was done

I reached out to my family

'Tell me about our brother' 

And the stories triggered laughter and tears

I reached out to my cousin...his close friend

"What was my brother's favorite thing"

"You", she responded.

And it triggered memories of dancing round and round

Of being snuggled between my brothers during scary nights

Of being loved unconditionally

I won't give you a history lesson or get too detailed on the celebration

but the Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar

is set up to welcome home the departed

when they return to visit their loved ones for a celebration

filled with music, food and retelling of the good times

The departed is attracted to his altar by the strong smell of marigolds

by bright colors, lighted candles, favorite foods, favorite things

calaveras (skulls) decked out in an attempt to mock death

the reminder that even death cannot come between familial love

 Some of the items you see in my altar are as follows

Traditional pan de muerto along w/ my brother's favorite foods

Whoppers, apples and bananas representing earth

Soap & comb for grooming after his travels with wash bowl and drink

representing water

The candles to light his way and representing fire and the four directions

The papel picado (paper flags) representing wind

The records symbolic of the times I spent dancing in my brother's arms
Pancho was our Amazon parrot who perched on my brother's shoulder

And the butterfly

symbolic of resurrection, transition, rebirth, celebration, returning soul

I hesitated using the photo of my brother and I

seeing as how I am here and he is there

We were inseparable

When he died, my innocence died too

I lost my brother, my playmate, my guardian

 Music stopped playing in our home and laughter was forced and

I lost my family as I knew them in my 4 yr old brain

as they struggled to deal with the loss in their own ways

 And then I remembered something else my cousin said

that my brother spoke of always protecting me

 of being there for me

The truth is that although I don't see him physically,  I have never felt he was gone

I know he still protects and loves me just like he did back then

and reconnecting to him through this altar

reminded me of that

~ ~ ~

The altar isn't quite done

 but it sits while I decide if the things I want to add

are actually necessary to what it wants to say

versus what I think it should say

The artists will understand what I mean