A Mi Abuelita: Interactive Dia de los Muertos Shrine

When I visited Bolivia as a teenager in 1970, I was invited to have lunch with Bisabuelita Modesta, my Great-Grandmother Modesta. Born in 1873, she lived her whole life in Cochabamba, my father's hometown. Her 97 years had shrunk and bent her bones, and her voice was a little squeaky, but there was life in her words. 

A few weeks later, on a Tuesday night, Abuelita Modesta got sick. She knew her time had come. On Wednesday, the family and friends gathered at her bedside to say goodbye. All day, family and friends arrived to say goodbye. Tía Teresa ushered in visitors and shooed them out when she felt their time was up. When it was my turn, Abuelita Modesta held my hand and said, "Lucia, hijita, the angels are coming to take me." That night, she died. 

Her graceful death moved me. She was only sick for one day. She was able to say goodbye to her family, and she died waiting for angels to carry her up to heaven. I created an interactive computer shrine honoring the traditions of Día de Muertos. On the Macintosh was an interactive animation of my Abuelita Modesta's life and death. The images were black and white, cartoon-like, drawn on a 1985 Mac. The animation showed the highlights of my great-grandmother's life: the year of her birth, her marriage, her fourteen children, and the angels coming from the sky to take her when she died. 

To reach the second portion of the installation, one had to go past a curtain. Behind the curtain was a seven-foot shrine inspired by Mayan architecture. On top of the shrine was a monitor. As the viewer approached the shrine, they saw their image on the monitor. Suddenly, their image disintegrated, and a laughing skull appeared. Using actions rather than words, I wanted to startle the viewer, remind them of their death, and hopefully amuse them.

Video of A Mi Abuelita on the black and white Mac