[title]
One of Manhattan’s busiest plazas is making room for some dearly missed New Yorkers.
A sprawling community altar inspired by Mexican marigolds will arrive at Flatiron North Plaza next week, inviting anyone passing through to pause, remember a loved one and leave something in their honor. Called Twenty Petal Flower, the installation anchors the Flatiron NoMad Partnership’s fifth annual Día de Muertos celebration, which includes a free afternoon festival with dance performances and sugar skull activities.
The ofrenda will be on display from Monday, October 26, through Tuesday, November 3, at Broadway and 23rd Street. Visitors are encouraged to contribute mementos and remembrances of people they’ve lost, making the artwork a shared place of remembrance in the middle of the city. You can visit during the installation’s run even if you can’t make the festival.
RECOMMENDED: Celebrate Dia De Los Muertos at NYBG
Its journey to Manhattan involved workshops on both sides of the border. Mestiz Studio, founded by artist and designer Daniel Valero in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, collaborated with Brooklyn’s Powerhouse Arts to create oversized woven flowers arranged across a colorful, tiered altar illuminated by warm, candle-like lighting.
The name comes from the Nahuatl word cempōhualxōchitl, which means “twenty petal flower.” The design follows the cempasúchil (Mexican marigold) from the fields of Michoacán to the garlands, offerings and elaborate floral structures made for Día de Muertos. It also honors the agricultural workers and artisans whose labor makes those traditions possible. “Flowers become an architecture of celebration,” Valero said in the announcement.
Día de Muertos is a Mexican tradition with pre-Hispanic roots that celebrates the memory and presence of those who have died. Offerings, food and flowers help welcome departed loved ones home, according to popular belief—a spirit of hospitality that gives this public artwork its purpose.
For the liveliest visit, head over on Wednesday, October 28, when the plaza will host a free, all-ages celebration from 3pm to 7pm. Calpulli Mexican Dance Company will present Mexican folklore performances, while visitors can take part in a painted sugar skull activity beneath colorful papel picado decorations. The Partnership is also highlighting Mexican and Latinx-owned neighborhood businesses through its local business guide, giving you a reason to make an afternoon of it.
For once, the best reason to stop at Broadway and 23rd won’t be to photograph the Flatiron Building.