Made to Remember

The ofrenda, an altar created to honor deceased loved ones, is a bridge that connects not only the living and dead, but the stories of generations.

The physical altar is the ofrenda, says Rosanna Esparza Ahrens, but so is the making of it, which connects her to the women who came before her.

Long recognized for their role in helping establish and sustain Día de los Muertos traditions in Los Angeles, Ofelia Esparza and her daughter Rosanna have shaped the practice as both a communal ritual and a contemporary art form. Ofelia, born in East Los Angeles in 1932, learned the practice from her mother, who brought her traditions from Huanimaro, Mexico.

She has spent decades building elaborate ofrendas that honor ancestors through handmade paper flowers, textiles, photographs, objects, and layered narratives grounded in the conviction that to be forgotten is the most final death of all.

Rosanna carries this legacy forward, exploring how the gathering, the storytelling, and the shared labor is as much the offering as the altar it produces. In the Conservation Institute’s latest Artist Dialogues film, Ofelia and Rosanna Esparza: Made to Remember, Ofelia and Rosanna present the ofrenda as a form of ephemeral art: carefully composed with attention to focal point, dimension, and material, yet always temporary by design. Here, conservation carries different meaning than it typically does in cultural heritage contexts. Rather than relying on material permanence, the art form is sustained through intergenerational continuity, carried forward by storytelling, teaching, and community solidarity.

Watch the video below!

Discover how contemporary artists think about preserving their works in the Getty Conservation Institute's Artist Dialogue series, in which artists explore their philosophies, materials, and methods, and share their thoughts on conservation—often for the very first time.