Visual artist Nora Lanzieri opens the exhibition “Las Catrinas están de Ronda” at Azulay Art gallery, blending documentary photography and installations inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition. Previously shown in Xalapa, Mexico, the exhibit will be a highlight of Museums Night 2025 in Buenos Aires on November 8.
The exhibition “Las Catrinas están de Ronda” originated in 2022 when Nora Lanzieri received an invitation to exhibit in Mexico. With two ideas in mind, she chose to explore Day of the Dead and catrinas, dismantling stereotypes about death and highlighting its luminous facet in Mexican tradition. “I had two ideas in mind. One was to work with Day of the Dead and catrinas,” the artist recalled.
Photographs taken in towns like Xico and Naolinco coexist with installations including bottles, cempasúchil flowers, and intervened objects, produced between Mexico and Buenos Aires. A central element is the Altar of bottles, made with forty-nine liquor bottles adorned with the sacred flower, a symbol guiding souls. “I didn’t want to make a traditional altar. I wanted to create my own, made with elements they use and representing their spirituality,” Lanzieri explained. The color yellow dominates the tour, representing life, light, and divinity. “Yellow is light. It’s sun. It’s divinity. It’s spirituality. That’s why I chose it.”
Interaction is key in the Raíces de la tradición mexicana installation, where visitors spin panels to participate. “I don’t want the spectator to just look. I want them to feel they are part of the experience,” she stated. Mexican curator Blanca Vargas emphasized: “Death is part of life, and that’s how we see it. There is always the belief that the dead return to share food with the living.”
Lanzieri shared a personal experience: “They wait for their loved ones. They put the food they liked. There are signs. You leave a glass of tequila and the next day it’s lower.” The exhibit closes with a catrina that reads: “Although I died, I didn’t leave, I keep taking photos.” Cultural manager Martha Josefina Aguilar Nájera highlighted: “A huge effort was made so you can see a piece of our culture. The success in Mexico couldn’t be less here.”
“It was a year of work. Many people helped me. It wasn’t just my creative part, but teamwork,” Lanzieri noted. Her goal: “I want the public to take away a feeling of joy, not sadness. To understand that for them death is encounter, not farewell.”
The exhibition is at Azulay Art, Av. del Libertador and Callao, Recoleta, open until November 9 with free entry and prior reservation. For Museums Night on November 8, hours are from 7 PM to 2 AM.