Celebration fails to translate into cultural experience
Having lived here for nearly six months and been disappointed in the community events designed by and for the Hispanic community, I went with my boyfriend to the Day of the Dead celebration at the Indianapolis Art Center. I was, to say the least, even more disappointed.
The art was beautiful and the performances divine; yet as I walked around trying to absorb something that I have missed since leaving the West Coast, I found that I was becoming more and more offended. The altars were primarily decorative and the emcee’s Spanish was lacking. I told my boyfriend that it seemed almost like in this celebration, my heritage, my culture and my spirituality were nothing more than a circus sideshow. I am curious to know why, when Indianapolis has a burgeoning Hispanic population, such an important holy day would not be celebrated for the populace, which created it, rather than making us the animals behind the glass?
Mika Ibarra
Indianapolis
circus sideshow, dead celebration, hispanic population, holy day, hispanic community, day of the dead, altars, emcee, populace, west coast, six months, spirituality, heritage, animals, Letters to the editor, Opinion, Indianapolis Art Center
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