Austin housing co-op puts up giant ofrenda for Día de Muertos, invites community to add to it
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Photos of passed family members, friends, pets and celebrities decorate a community ofrenda, or altar, set up at the corner of West 23rd and Nueces Streets. It was set up by the New Guild Housing Cooperative for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Día de los Muertos is celebrated at the end of October and the beginning of November each year. The holiday is of Mexican origin, though it's now celebrated across many countries and cultures.
The holiday is a time dedicated to honoring people who have died, through the creation of ofrendas decorated with photos of the dead, flowers, candles, incense, food, and other personal reminders of those who have passed.
New Guild, in Austin's West Campus neighborhood, has been setting up the giant community altar at the corner of West 23rd and Nueces for about three years now. According to an Instagram post from the co-op, anyone can submit a photo to be placed on the altar.
"Hey y’all we are once again hosting a community altar in the New Guild front yard," the Instagram caption said in part. "Everyone is welcome, either send us a picture or upload to the folder."
The co-op set up a Google Drive for people to easily submit photos to be placed on the altar. The post noted that photos submitted in past years will be placed on the altar again this year.
Christopher Ortiz, the main coordinator of the ofrenda, said the inspiration behind setting it up came from seeing his own family celebrate their cultural heritage. He's been a member of New Guild for four years, and he's the labor and garden steward for the co-op.
Ortiz said before the public ofrenda was set up, previous cohorts had smaller, private altars set up in the common area of the co-op. He estimates that at this point, about 50-60 people have added to the altar, though he's lost track of the exact count.
"I’ve seen how grieving, as painful as it is, can also bring people together in a really special way," Ortiz said via text message Thursday. "I also grew up admiring how altarists in my parents’ home countries Mexico and El Salvador create massive ofrendas for Día de Muertos and Día de los Fieles Difuntos (Day of the Faithful Deceased), transforming spaces into beautiful places where families can celebrate the lives of their loved ones. I just wanted to bring a piece of that to the Austin community."
Ortiz said the original community altar was "very DIY" and he used any materials he could find from around West Campus: wood slabs, cinder blocks, and wooden pallets.
Each year, the co-op has gotten more support, Ortiz said. He said last year, Inter-Cooperative Council Austin (ICC Austin), which runs New Guild, gave him $300 to buy decorations. This year, New Guild used donated funds to help me Ortiz get new wood planks, and other co-ops like House of Audre Lorde, House of Commons, and Helios have shared materials like cinder blocks and pallets.
Ortiz added that members of the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture (UTSOA) helped print photos in the school's tech lab.
"It’s really become a community effort," Ortiz said. "From using my own curtains and plants as decor to the beautiful offerings left by people throughout the co-op and Austin community."
The last day to view co-op's ofrenda is Nov. 3.