Ofrenda de Luz
MALINALCO,MX 2020
Alumbra and Imaginalco teamed up to transform the Recorrido al Mictlán 2020 in Malinalco, State of Mexico, México, into an artistic lighting show created by young people from the neighborhood.They took ownership of the streets of the town, resiliently preserving their traditions and strengthening community ties.
What for?
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and given the need to take care of everyone's health, the common intention was to offer an alternative celebration during the festivities of the Day of the Dead, a deep-rooted tradition in the community of Malinalco.
Where?
To avoid crowds, it was collectively defined that the public space to activate would be the streets of the town through a caravan of intervened cars. The caravan drove through Malinalco carrying an offering of light to the dead and following a route through the different altars in homes honouring their dead.
How?
LABORATORY:
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
We held workshops about light, using artistic lighting as a tool for expression and transformation. We worked in a laboratory to raise awareness about light and the role it plays in our lives.
COLLABORATIVE CREATION
For the construction and mounting process we collectively identifying the skills and interests of each participant in order to define their role to play, putting into practice what they learned during the workshops.
Photos by Aldo Ayllón García and Carlos Zoco Montero.
What?
PLACEMAKING
Three cars of practical use were transformed into artistic lighting installations incorporating essential elements of a Day of the Dead altar.
By occupying the streets of the neighborhood with allegorical cars transporting the participants, a space for nighttime gathering was generated, bringing joy and surprise to the community.
Each car had its own identity, both thematic by the puppet it carried, and also reflected by the personalities of each participant that worked on it.
Owning of your street is also a way of reinventing your space.
Fotos por Teresa de Miguel
Who?
Yoselin, 17 y/o
...I was thinking that I can put light in my room, I mean, decorate it with light. In other words, what I learned here, do it at home, in my room.
Torres, 21 y/o
I liked playing with the lights, [with] things I didn't even know, today I do. And I feel comfortable, I think it's a great project, yes... What do I enjoy the most right now? Well, it's being over there with the crew that I know, that supports me, giving a hand to each other, in a creative field. That's what I like the most.
Dani "Gringo", 21 y/o
...a little bit different from what was done in the past years, but still the same motivation. Well, what I have enjoyed the most is that, now, I have met new friends, new people. And well, we've come up with some new ideas for handling light for some rap video clips.
Vale, 18 y/o
...I really like that stuff about light... I never had learned anything similar about light and I did not know what cold light and warm light are, or about the colors that can be combined so that you can make different sentimental situations. So, well, it was something good and something super cool for me, because, now I know and understand things more.
ALUMBRA is a project by Colectivo Barrio
Iniciativa Ciudadana para el Desarrollo Barrial A.C.
