CRÓNICA DE UNA MUERTE DEL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Collaborative work with Amy Ruvalcaba. The altar is dedicated to the (re)appropriation of the día de los muertos legacy. In May 2013 Disney Enterprises, Inc. applied for a total of ten trademarks to secure the phrase “DIA DE LOS MUERTOS” or “DAY OF THE DEAD” for the then upcoming subsidiary Pixar film, “The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dia de los Muertos.” In true Disney capitalistic fashion, the trademarks would secure the rights for multiple merchandise platforms from non-medical toiletries to poultry, and everything in between. As a result, Disney was met with scrutiny and an uprising of the Latino community via social media, which then prompted them to abandon their filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Disney’s attempt is a culmination of the commercialization and misappropriation of día de los muertos. From it’s history as a communal/familial time of reflection and honoring of one’s ancestors over a series of days which warranted weeks of preparation, to modern day events which last a few hours and many Americans actively confuse as an extension of Halloween, to the patenting of the name of this holiday for the sake of peddling the wares of an all-powerful media conglomerate.
The altar “Crónica de una muerte del día de los muertos” is a tongue and cheek altar which turns this appropriation on it’s head, by directly pointing out the consumption in an effort to protect the traditional legacy and integrity of this sacred holiday.









