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SAN JUAN — A large tarp was laid on the pavement in a parking lot at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle on Friday morning.
Just after 9:30 a.m., a truck hauling a trailer slowly backed onto the tarp. The trailer doors were opened revealing a bed full of sawdust. One end of the trailer lifted to begin dumping the sawdust into a large pile in the center of the tarp.
Workers grabbed shovels and scooped small piles of sawdust onto boards with chicken wire, sifting the finer grains while tossing the larger pieces aside. When all was completed, the sawdust would be dyed in preparation for the city of San Juan’s Dia De Los Muertos Festival scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2.
The sawdust will be used to create alfombras de aserrin, or sawdust carpets — a tradition practiced for hundreds of years in Guatemala.
“It’s not even about the sawdust. It has to be 100% pine,” Downtown San Juan Cultural Arts District Founder and Executive Director Miriam Cepeda-Gelman said. “So this actually dates back to the Mayans when they would paint the floors of festivities but with wood chippings and color it with natural dyes. We’re trying to keep that as traditional as possible.”
The sawdust was mixed with natural dyes shipped from Guatemala ahead of Saturday’s event. Gelman said that the sawdust will be used to create a large public artwork project in front of the San Juan City Hall building.
Gelman said that groups of artists from PSJA (Pharr-San Juan-Alamo) ISD, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville schools, Capable Kids Foundation, Rise Up Warrior, and Girl Scouts Of Greater South Texas will each contribute to the project with their own 12-by-16-foot alfombras de aserrin. Together, they will contribute to the nearly 100-foot alfombra.
“This artwork is only going to be around for a couple hours, less than a day,” Gelman said. “We’re gonna start building these in the morning, and then when the festival opens at 12, people can see them. By 5 p.m., they’re gonna be gone — all of this, months of preparation. The whole idea behind that is to tie-in that ephemeral spirit, that something so beautiful, such as life, can be gone in a second.”
Saturday’s event will also feature other assorted art, food, vendors, and live music, including a concert inside the Basilica titled, “En Memoria.”
“We don’t worship the dead, but we honor the dead, and that’s why we’re preparing with the Downtown Cultural District, the Basilica and the city of San Juan with the carpetas ya serene, or sawdust carpets,” Father Jorge Gomez, rector of the Basilica, said. “At the Basilica, we’re going to have a Mass at 5:30 (p.m.) for Dia de los Muertos, and then a vigil.
“I invite everybody to bring a candle and the names or pictures of their loved ones who have passed away.”
The evening will conclude with a musical performance by Aida Cuevas, also known as La Reina Del Mariachi.
The concert was organized by Gelman and Dr. Dahlia Guerra who recently established South Texas Music & Cultural Arts Foundation.
“At that concert, we’re going to have both classical and mariachi music,” Guerra said. “We’re going to start off with some performances by UTRGV faculty, Dr Joel Pagan and Dr Diana Seitz with some students from the university. It’s a small chamber ensemble, and that’s the first half.”
“The second half features the mariachi program from the university, Mariachi Juvenil Aztlán and Mariachi Aztlán,” she continued. “And the grand finale is the fabulous Aida Cuevas, probably the leading Mexican singer right now.”
The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. inside the Basilica. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the concert are available for purchase at eventbrite.com. Prices range from $50 for VIP, $25 for general admission, and $5 amigo tickets.
“It’s something that’s going to be very beautiful,” Mayor Mario Garza said. “It’s the first time ever that we come together as far as the San Juan Cultural Arts District, the city of San Juan, and the Basilica — coming together and putting on this real nice festival for the Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos. It’s something needed, something that’s part of our culture, and we’re excited.”
