Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council Community
Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council Community
The video documents the creation of a Oaxacan sand painting by Antonio Cruz Zavaleta, for Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration on November 1, 2019, held at the Orleans County YMCA, Medina NY.
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Porfiria Mijangos explains the elements of a traditional ofrenda for Day of the Dead in her region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Interview and footage are from the Day of the Dead celebration at Orleans YMCA, Medina, New York, November 1 2019. Members of her extended family built the large ofrenda seen here for the annual community-wide event.
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The St. Joseph's Day Table is a primarily Italian American tradition that honors the saint on his feast day, March 19. It recalls the answer to prayers for rain from drought-stricken faithful in Sicily in the Middle Ages, and their subsequent offering of a meal for travelers, strangers, the poor and the entire community in thanksgiving. This video takes you to a Table hosted by Bernice Hotchkiss in 2019, where she describes the foods and recalls how she began learning the recipes from older women in her community. The accompanying notes give more details on the traditional foods, their symbolism and current practice in western New York.