Remember Me (Recuérdame)

Meaning: Enduring bonds never break.

In the time of remembrance, I reflected upon those I have loved and lost. Dia de los Muertos always brings me back to my childhood of the many missed days in elementary school because of a lost loved one. As a child, it was hard to bear and understand when my uncle was grieving and pulled me toward him to pray alongside him because he did not have the strength to do it alone and I was willing to be there with him. When I reflect upon this as an adult, I wonder if I would do that too, and think how I felt back then, I guess I did not truly know the significance it was at the time when he needed someone to just be beside him. I will never truly know why he picked me, nor why I agreed, but I will always remember that I made it a little bit easier.

To get into the mindset once again like I had from my childhood, I listened on repeat to “Lágrimas Sin Fin” (Endless Tears) song, because the song speaks of a lost love that is gone and the woman laid down with her lost love because she could not handle being without them. When we grieve it is so personal, and I felt I needed to be in between a state of love and loss, juxtaposed to joy and sorrow. Listening to the song brought out such raw emotions in a different manner than all my other paintings… I loved her too and wanted to give tribute to her in the end to show her how much she is loved…

This image of a lady with a painted face for Dia de los Muertos, holding a candle and fading into ephemeral colors, embodies the profound connection between the living and the departed. Her otherworldly eyes, glowing with shades of yellow and red, signify her as a visitor from another realm. She returns on this sacred day because a loved one has remembered her and honored her with tributes at the home family altar (ofrenda). Her presence reminds us that through memory and celebration, our loved ones continue to live on, transcending the boundaries between life and death.