Design and Create your own Day of the Dead Offering (Ofrenda de Dia de Muertos): Ancestry Celebration and Magic, A Live, Online Class with Artist and Educator Teté Montero, Beginning October 20 — Morb

Design and Create your own Day of the Dead Offering (Ofrenda de Dia de Muertos): Ancestry Celebration and Magic, A Live, Online Class with Artist and Educator Teté Montero, Beginning October 20

Design and Create your own Day of the Dead Offering (Ofrenda de Dia de Muertos): Ancestry Celebration and Magic, A Live, Online Class with Artist and Educator Teté Montero, Beginning October 20

3-week online course
Dates: Thursdays October 20, 27 and November 3rd, 2022
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 pm ET
Admission $115 Patreon members / $130 general admission

All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time.

Death is an omnipresent diverse character found in Mexican traditions since before European influence. It has a special place in the belief system rooted in the indigenous Mexican culture, while at the same time, it is the only true human universal constant.

The ofrenda—offering or altarpiece—has been the most colorful, tangible, and iconic representation of the Dia de Muertos. Part shrine, part representation of the ephemeral side of human existence, it invokes ancestry and devotion for the ones who make the offering, while linking to our past, and grounding the observer as an active part of the festivity, with an overflow of visual maximalism and playful joy, without ever loosing its focus in death. Marking a brief transitory connection between the living world and the afterlife, this festivity honoring the dead happens every year in late October and early November, being the most important recognized tradition of Mexican culture. It has even been declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

In this three week live, onlive class (life, death, get it?), we will immerse ourselves in the cultural appreciation elements of this ancestral practice, and enjoy a closer look into the intimate background of the creation of a Dia de Muertos offering. We will learn about the history of the holiday, tracing back to pre-hispanic and Spanish Catholic roots, and examine how it allows people to stay in communication with the dead. We will review the classic elements, palette and inspiration of the altar as part of the festivity, as well as more modern versions. We will use the ofrenda as personal transitional piece, allowing ourselves the powerful moment to connect with this wonderful healing practice, using the unique cosmology of the traditional Mexican Fiesta of Dia de Muertos as a universal background.

Teté Montero is a Mexican end-of-life educator, death doula, unicorn enchantress, story teller and weaver, by choice. She is neurodivergent by neurology, a self appointed renaissance woman, a textile artist and teacher. She apprenticed under the care of master weaver Kenzo Jo in textile Saori art while in Japan. In addition, she has studied at University of Cambridge, Harvard University, The Hospice Association, Upaya Zen Center, and the Authentic Presence Organization. Her focus has been in medical studies, contemplative end of life care, medieval studies, socially engaged Buddhism and art. She currently runs a textile art studio in Mexico City with her rambunctious dog Kayi. She is Buddhist too!

Image credits, in order: La ofrenda de Día de Muertos. Axochiapan, Morelos. Colección Incremento Acervo, Fototeca Nacional, Mx.; Santiago Savi; EMG; Casasola. Archivo Fototeca Nacional Mx.; Casasola. Archivo Fototeca Nacional Mx.; INAH Archivos Mx.; Mexico Desconocido Magazine; Mexico Desconocido Magazine.