Alma Y Corazón – Dia de Los Muertos Ceremony at Oakwood Cemetery Chapel

Presented by the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel, and the Cemetery Operations Division of the Parks and Recreation Department

6:15 pm – Mariana Nuño-Ruiz and Ian McEnroe speaks about their book “Dining with the Dead” and the history of Día de los Muertos

7:00 – 8:30 pm – Meet at Oakwood Cemetery Annex gates to walk with musician Jorge Tamayo and friends to Section C of the Cemetery, to view a family ofrenda and welcome the ancestors of the Herrera, Carmona, Limon, Moreno, and Villasana families.

About the artist Alonso Estrada: Texas-based and self-taught artist, The Death Head grew up in Mexico and found inspiration for his artwork in the Day of the Dead traditions, also embracing the punk rock movement’s attitude. He expresses these interests in his art, by mythologizing his environment while interpreting the brutal, primal, and animalistic side of the human form. He refers to his style as modern symbolism.

About the musician Javier Jara: Javier Jara plays both originals and renditions of classic Latin American tunes influenced by the troubadour and Canción Social Movement. In 2022, Javier Jara won the New Folk Kerrville Songwriting Contest, becoming the first Spanish-speaking artist to do so since the festival’s inception (1972). Recently, Javier Jara toured several cities in Texas and New Mexico with his project Our Rythms our Voices, shedding light on the Latin American immigrant experience through story-telling, song and poetry. Thanks to a recently acquired Elevate Grant, and in collaboration with Austin Unconducted, a 20-piece orchestra with the finest string players in ATX, Javier Jara will present Our Rhythms Our Voices at the Long Center in September 2024.

About the authors Mariana Nuño-Ruiz and Ian McEnroe: Dining with the Dead author Mariana Nuño Ruiz was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and comes from a long line of strong women. Margarita, her traditional grandma, kindled her passion for traditional Mexican cooking at an early age. Ana Fernanda, her modern grandma, inspired her to become a woman with a professional career and to see the world with wider eyes. The combination of their teachings ignited Mariana’s love for cooking and her curiosity beyond the kitchen, to learn about ingredients, their origins, and the history of foods. Thanks to her Mom full support and hard work, Mariana earned an architecture degree from ITESO university in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. After working as an architect for more than eight years, she followed her bliss to acquire a culinary arts degree from AWC in Arizona. She has cooked in restaurants, catered, baked, sculpted, and decorated cakes. She also likes to teach cooking classes and workshops. Mariana enjoys mambo, food history, creating recipes, and collecting new and rare cookbooks. She also loves chiles and worships tomato season. Her last supper would be frijolitos de la olla. When she is not cooking she is thinking about cooking. Ian McEnroe was born in Michigan but grew up in Texas. His interest in photography started with a manual camera on which he learned to shoot film. Ian earned his Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas, which led to his award-winning photography and a long career as a photographic consultant and an instructor to hundreds of students at all levels of learning. When he’s not taking photos, he enjoys painting, jazz, collecting records, reading, coffee, and, of course, good food.