Altarista Ofelia Esparza heads to Washington D.C. this year to create a Día de Los Muertos ofrenda honoring her indigenous ancestry for the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Image: L.A. Museum of Natural History  By Abel M. Salas Although she will blush and shudder with nervous embarrassment to hear it said, or read aloud from these pages, Doña Ofelia Esparza is clearly on her way to becoming synonymous with the ofrenda. Literally an “offering,” the ofrenda, or “altar” is a spiritually-based expression of reverence or love traditionally assembled to honor the lives of departed loved ones. Today, however, it is just as likely to represent an idea or a political message. In the course of a quiet and unassuming second-act career as a fine artist over the last 30-years, Ofelia has earned a pristine reputation as one of the nation’s preeminent altar-makers. Widely acknowledged as a leading exponent and master practitioner of a cultural tradition she was first made awar...

Master Zapoteca weaver at 88-years-old, J. Isaac Vásquez García is revitalizing the use of natural dyes. by Abel M. Salas It is hard to make a case against the consistent quality of programs aired on PBS. Not only does public television in this country do everything right, content across its programming grid is always good. From feature documentaries to episodic drama and shows focused on the arts, science, history and everything in between, the award-winning excellence which imbues so much of what is ultimately selected for broadcast has never been compromised by its “educational” mandate. Occasionally, however, independent media makers, program developers and producers in the PBS orbit create something so much better than what could be found anywhere else—including commercial network, cable network and digital content production platforms—that we experience a kind of reunion honeymoon. More than simply rekindling our thorough infatuation with shows we adored as children, the...

By Abel Salas Committed to creating a sound that pays homage to world and soul music in a riveting, infinitely danceable—yet still utterly original—distillation of those global, cross-cultural currents, Cuicani is a five-member collective of singer-songwriters, community activists and educators.  Amidst a growing popular buzz, the quintet makes its first full-length recording debut this month. (Above left to right: Tony Sauza, Marisa Martínez, John Northup and Marlene Beltrán-Cuauhtin. Photo by Farah Sosa) Like long-time powerhouse Chicana songstress, Irma “Cui Cui” Rangel, known as “Cuicani” for over two decades now in the danza azteca community and in movimiento -era theater, art and music circles, the newly minted ensemble also takes its name from the Nahuatl word for “singer.” With “mavens” Marlene Beltrán-Cuauhtin and Marisa Martínez on vocals, Tony “Tone-Irie” Sauza on vocals and guitar, Caitlin Moss on drums and John Northup on bass, the millennial band members draw ...