iCasa de AméricaRecoletos
De los que hicieron México su hogar: una ofrenda a la memoria del exilio
Monumental five-level Mexican Day of the Dead altar honouring exiles who rebuilt their lives in Mexico, from Spanish Republicans in 1939 to victims of Latin American dictatorships.
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Preview: written before the show opened
A large circle of papel picado hangs over a five-level altar to people forced from their countries who rebuilt their lives in Mexico: Spanish Republicans in 1939, and those who fled Latin America's 20th-century dictatorships.
It is a Day of the Dead ofrenda, the altar Mexican families build to receive their dead with objects, images and food. Around it are a floral arch, a carpet of sawdust and seeds laid out as the routes of migration into Mexico, and a screen of images, stories and quotes from the exiles themselves. You don't have to hunt for a gallery: it stands at Casa de América's main entrance. The house's first altar, in 2025, was for grandmothers.
Entry is free until capacity is reached, and it is up for 12 days only. Hours run longer than the usual exhibitions: weekdays 9:00 to 20:00, Saturday 31 October 10:00 to 17:00, and 10:30 to 13:30 on Sunday 1, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November.
Look for
The five-level altar
A monumental ofrenda, five tiers high, framed by a floral arch and dedicated to those who rebuilt their lives in Mexico after war and persecution.
The suspended papel picado circle
A large ring of cut paper hangs above the altar, meant to stand for stories and cultures joined together.
The sawdust and seed carpet
Look down for the tapete, a floor carpet of sawdust and seeds that maps the flows of migration into Mexico.
The exiles' screen
An audiovisual screen runs images, stories and quotes from the people who went into exile.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Cheap Culture
- Rainy Days
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
6
- De los que hicieron México su hogar: una ofrenda a la memoria del exilioCourtesy of Casa de América
- Casa de AméricaCarlos Delgado (Kadellar), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Museo NavalFernando, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museo Nacional de Artes DecorativasLuis García (Zaqarbal), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Fundación MAPFRE – Sala RecoletosBeautyriver1010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museo Thyssen-BornemiszaLuis García (Zaqarbal), CC BY-SA 3.0