The Art Installation Celebrating the Day of the Dead is up!

It is on view 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
until November 26, 2006...
at the "9" and "G" Street window of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library.
The exhibit is entitled: "OUR FRIEND CATRINA"
A Mexican Tradition to Celebrate The Day of The Dead.

In addition to seeing the exhibit, the public is invited to attend a special program for El dia de Los muertos on Wednesday, November 8, 2006, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Library.The Program will take place at the Central Lobby.
Please join us

THIS ART INSTALLATION AT THE D.C. PUBLIC LIBRARY
CELEBRATES THE DAY OF THE DEAD, A MEXICAN TRADITION
(Washington, D.C.) In celebration of the Day of the Dead, the District of Columbia Public Library will host the art installation, “Our Friend Catrina,” from October 28 to November 27, 2006, in the G Street windows of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, 901 G Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

This art installation, created by artist Mara Odette, features a blend of Mexican indigenous traditions with European influences, and highlights the Mexican tradition of honoring their ancestors.

Mara Odette named the art installation, “Our Friend Catrina,” because the exhibit includes a classic character in Mexican folk art, Catrina, a skeleton dressed to represent an upper-class lady of the turn-of-the-century, always depicted in her broad-brimmed hat. Catrina symbolizes La Muerte-Death. She is also known as la Flaca, la Huesuda, la Pelona-Fancy Lady, Skinny, Bonny, Baldy.

The Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead on November 1st, is dedicated to Catholic saints and infants who after dying became angels (according to the Mexican tradition), and November 2nd is dedicated to the souls of those who passed away in their adulthood.

Mara Odette was born in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. She studied art at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM), Open Programs at the Corcoran School of Art, and the Maryland College of Art. Her paintings have been exhibited in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Russia, India, People's Republic of China and the United States . Mara Odette, currently a resident of Bethesda, Maryland has recently illustrated the book, “Don’t Let Anyone Take Your Joy Away”, the story of the Negro Baseball League, by Stanley Glenn (Universe, Inc., 2006). She also had 13 portraits included in the “Faces of the Fallen” exhibit displayed at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia last year.

All programs and exhibits at the D.C. Public Library are free and open to the public. For further information, please contact Elena Etcher, coordinator of exhibits and programs, at (202) 727-1183.

CONTACT:
Elena Tscherny, (202) 727-1183