The Heritage Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder will host an art exhibition titled "Days of the Dead: Aztec Adventures of Cholo, Vato, and Pano" from Oct. 23 to Nov. 21 in the CU Heritage Center.
The exhibit will showcase the original illustrations of Tony Ortega, a CU alumnus who graduated in 1980 with a bachelor聮s degree in Spanish and in 1995 with a master聮s degree in fine arts, said Nancy Miller of the Heritage Center. Alumnus Dennis Dalton, a print-maker, collaborated with Ortega to create a limited-edition lithograph based on one of the images. The lithograph also will be on display.
CU Fine Arts Professor George Rivera used the featured artwork to help illustrate his children聮s book by the same title. The book explores the Day of the Dead, a Christian holiday of ancestor worship and remembering family members, and the holiday聮s pre-Colombian roots.
The Hispanic Alumni Club will hold a benefit honoring Ortega, Rivera and Dalton at the Heritage Center on Sunday, Oct. 22, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The benefit will help raise funds for scholarships for Hispanic students and also will benefit the Heritage Center. A donation of $25 is suggested. All three artists will be present at the benefit.
After the benefit, the art exhibit will be free and open to the public. The public also will have a chance to meet the artists at a reception on Nov. 17, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the Heritage Center.
The Heritage Center has enlisted the help of students from Baseline Middle School, University Hill Elementary School and Boulder High School in the show, Miller said. Students from Baseline and University Hill have created and designed three original altars that will be on display throughout the show. A Boulder High student helped with labels in Spanish to accompany the artwork.
The center also is collaborating with the Museo de las Americas in Denver and is hosting workshops for groups of area grade school students. Those participating will make traditional decorations for their own altars. The workshops are available only upon request and a fee of $3 per person is charged.
Bilingual tours of the exhibit are by appointment only through the Heritage Center.
The Heritage Center, a museum of university history, is sponsored by the CU Alumni Association and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The center is located on the third floor of Old Main.
For more information about the exhibit, workshops or tours, contact the Heritage Center at (303) 492-6329.