{"id":437511,"date":"2026-09-16T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/437511\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T08:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T08:00:25","slug":"autumn-will-be-here-soon-and-a-dia-de-los-muertos-exhibition-at-the-san-antonio-botanical-garden-gets-an-early-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/437511\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn will be here soon, and a D\u00eda de los Muertos exhibition at the San Antonio Botanical Garden gets an early start"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for TPR Today<\/a>, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.<\/p>\n

While San Antonio may not feel like fall yet, one of the season\u2019s most recognizable traditions is already taking shape. <\/p>\n

The San Antonio Botanical Garden<\/a> has a new Catrina exhibit for D\u00eda de los Muertos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That exhibit is spread throughout the Botanical Garden and was created by Mexican artist Regina Moya<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis exhibit is called Jard\u00edn de las Catrinas, and it will open to the public September 15,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with Catrinas, the Jard\u00edn de las Catrinas<\/a> offers some history behind what they represent.<\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n

\u201cThe catrina is a very, very iconic and important figure in Mexico,\u201d Moya said. \u201cIt actually started as satire by an illustrator called Guadalupe Posada<\/a> back in 1910 when Porfirio D\u00edaz<\/a> was president. So he used to illustrate these very elegant ladies that were dressed in the French fashion, but they were skeletons.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concept started there, but Moya says the meaning of Catrinas has evolved over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the public, that meant it doesn’t matter how much money you have, how you dress, we’re all going to die someday,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moya said Catrinas also reflect a distinctly Mexican way of thinking about mortality.<\/p>\n

\n 1 of 2
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0BGSA_La Calavera Catrina_-21.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Details on a Catrina<\/p>\n

San Antonio Botanical Garden<\/p>\n

\n 2 of 2
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0BGSA_La Calavera Catrina_-25.jpg\n <\/p>\n

close up detail on a Catrina<\/p>\n

San Antonio Botanical Garden<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way Mexicans see death is kind of like an invitation to laugh a little bit about our own mortality, in a good way, and celebrate death as a part of the cycle of life is, and also to say, \u2018hey, while you have life, enjoy it,\u2019\u201d Moya said.<\/p>\n

Halloween and D\u00eda de los Muertos fall close together on the calendar, but Moya says the traditions are very different.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalloween is supposed to be something spooky and where the kids have fun and dress up, versus D\u00eda De Los Muertos (which) is a celebration where Mexican people really believe that their ancestors come back to visit them that day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This huge exhibit is a collaboration between Moya and the horticulture team at the Botanical Garden. Parts of the oversized Catrinas are made with living flowers.<\/p>\n

\n 1 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Photo Sep 11 2026, 12 22 46 PM.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Another iteration on a Dia de los Muertos theme<\/p>\n

San Antonio Botanical Garden<\/p>\n

\n 2 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Photo Sep 11 2026, 7 20 13 PM.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Another Catrina sitting down<\/p>\n

San Antonio Botanical Garden<\/p>\n

\n 3 of 3
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0BGSA_La Calavera Catrina_-18.jpg\n <\/p>\n

Catrina with a colorful hat<\/p>\n

San Antonio Botanical Garden<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just finished yesterday doing the skirts with live plants, and they are just a palette of colorful, live, beautiful plants,\u201d Moya said.<\/p>\n

She also transformed a round patio area into another installation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI transform that into a santuario (sanctuary) of monarch butterflies, and thousands of monarch butterflies made out of corn husks are just like fluttering around in strings, and in the center, there is a huge again 16-foot Catrina,\u201d Moya said.<\/p>\n

D\u00eda de los Muertos has become a major part of San Antonio\u2019s cultural calendar, with institutions like the Botanical Garden more and more embracing the tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Garden is always looking for cultural experiences for the San Antonio public, and they are very much supportive about all Hispanic heritage and roots, and they love to celebrate, especially D\u00eda De Los Muertos,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moya noted that her artwork and her roots in Mexico can\u2019t be divided.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as my eyes can see, my hands can create, I will always show the world the beauty of my country,\u201d Moya said.<\/p>\n

You can see the huge Catrinas throughout the garden through November 2. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-437511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}