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Recuerdos Ilustrados: Día de los Muertos 2025
On view October 11 – November 16, 2025
A journey through life, love and death, Recuerdos Ilustrados: Día de los Muertos 2025 (Illustrated Memories: Day of the Dead 2025) features contemporary altars and artwork by artists from Southern California and the Central Valley.
Opening at the Museum’s Día de los Muertos Fiesta on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, the annual exhibit explores the Mexican cultural tradition of honoring deceased loved ones each year on November 1 and 2 by creating calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), altares de muertos (altars of the dead) and ofrendas (offerings), which has evolved from the Aztecs to modern day Mexico and California. This year’s exhibit features the work of printmaking artists Álvaro D. Márquez, Stephanie Mercado, and Daniel Villa, whose altars will be centered around the topic of immigration.
Members of the public are also invited to honor friends and family members who have passed with a remembrance in the exhibit’s accompanying Community Altar. Optional templates can be downloaded ahead of time here or created on site using materials at the Museum’s craft station. Photocopies of photos are encouraged; any items left on the altar will not be returned.
*The exhibit grand opening will occur at 6 pm on October 11 at our Día de los Muertos Fiesta. The exhibit will open to general admission visitors on Sunday, October 12 at 12 pm.
Meet the Artists
Álvaro D. Márquez is a Xicanx interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Drawing from their upbringing in the working-class migrant community of East Salinas, Márquez’s work explores displacement, land commodification, and the contested politics of urban space. Through printmaking, installation, and sculpture, they create visual narratives rooted in both historical critique and contemporary struggle. With a deep respect for the radical history of printmaking, Márquez strategically mobilizes its language while advancing a research-based, socially engaged practice that bridges theory and lived experience.
Stephanie Mercado is an interdisciplinary artist and art administrator, born and raised in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, to a family of self-taught artisans. Her artwork and artistic practice are centered on the workforce, manual labor, and empowerment. Her imagery is eclectic, inspired by lived experiences, cultural references, and the fusion of traditional printmaking with experimental practices. Mercado’s print-based collages are comprised of relief carvings printed on handmade colored papers. The labor-intensive work pays homage to the working hand, historical traditions of craft, and professions rooted in labor and labors of love. Her creative practice is a combination of trades and media, including painting, printmaking, fabric sculpture, video, and design.
Daniel Villa, a self-taught Stockton artist, specializes in Linoleum, Woodcut and Mokuhanga techniques, refining his skills since late 2019 with non-toxic practices in his home studio. He contributes to arts education through workshops and demonstrations and collaborates with corporate partners, government institutions, and non-profits organizations. Daniel shares his creative journey on social media, providing insights into his process.
Honor a loved one at the exhibit’s community altar
