I remarked earlier in the week (here) that I might talk about part of what my wife, my daughter, and I did to mark my wife’s birthday in advance of the event, itself. Again, both my wife and I had to work on the day of and the day after, and our daughter was, as noted, away at camp. Consequently, it fell to the weekend before the day to celebrate the day–and we did so, most of it on Saturday, given other things going on. But that it was done early does not mean it was not done, nor yet that it was not enjoyed–as we’ve demonstrated before.

The focus of our festivities was two-fold, both of which took us to San Antonio. The second of them did not go as well as might have been hoped; it wasn’t an elevator, but it did let us down. The first, though, was enjoyable; we went to the Día de los Muertos Museum in Fiesta at North Star. I’ll admit to some trepidation about visiting a museum that lives above a retail store–and there’s plenty of kitsch to be found in the store, although there’s also a lot worth finding there. And I’ll concede the touristy nature of the museum, itself–but there’s also a fair bit of good content in it, especially given that the museum is an “amateur” production. I do not think there is a formally trained curator on staff; I do, however, think it is a passion project of its ownership, and I can appreciate working on things out of a passion for it despite a lack of access to more “formal” resources.

Small as the museum is, it does work to offer context for the celebration on which it focuses. I don’t know that I quite agree with all of its assertions regarding the deeper history of the observance–some of it seems quite a stretch, and the museum doesn’t do the best job of citing its sources. That said, I certainly appreciate the effort to situate Día de los Muertos in the past and present, as well as in the blend of cultures that gave rise to it.

The focus of the museum, however, is an array of a dozen or so ofrendas. Large and extravagantly decorated–some might call them flamboyant, rococo, or ostentatious–they bespeak exuberance in the celebration. Even for my haphazardly observational self, they were compelling as objects of art; for those who actually follow such observances, I expect they would be decidedly engaging and uplifting. My wife, who is of Hispanic descent, certainly seemed to be moved by the displays, talking at some length afterwards about erecting one in our home in season. (I endorse it for several reasons.)

Our daughter, who is necessarily also of Hispanic descent, though less attuned to it by generational separation, found it less compelling, but I cannot blame her for it. Again, she is more removed from that part of her heritage than her mother is, and I acknowledge that I am not exactly the most enthusiastic celebrant of, well, anything. One museum visit isn’t apt to change that kind of thing, although I know that it can, if things align correctly. I know, too, that they can’t if the visit isn’t made–and, in any event, we went to the museum for my wife. She enjoyed it, seeming to get a lot out of it, and that was the point of the exercise.

It may be that we go back to the Día de los Muertos Museum. The staff noted that they were working on expanding the offerings to include foodstuff demonstrations, and, as my pudgy belly attests, I am decidedly interested in that kind of thing. I think if we do, I’ll make a point of taking notes on site rather than after the fact. Going once, the overall experience matters; going again, I feel I need to do more and better. But that’s always true.

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