[2019] Nominated for the Los Angeles Area Emmy. Day of the Dead is a production of Dignicraft and KCET-Link for Artbound.
Día de los Muertos has been adapted for centuries from its pre-colonial roots to the popular depictions in mass media today.
Inspired by rich Oaxacan traditions, it was brought to East Los Angeles in the 1970s as a way to enrich and reclaim Chicano identity through a small celebration at Self Help Graphics and Art. Since then, the celebration has grown in proportions with renditions enacted in communities all around the world.
In contrast to all the ostentatious glamor that Day of the Dead now receives, Artbound offers a more intimate look at this ritual, through the story of Mexican-American artist Ofelia Esparza who travels to Huanímaro, Guanajuato, in search of her ancestral roots; and Rufina Marcial from the Zapotec community, who maintains her traditions in “Oaxacalifornia”.