SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio's Day of the Dead festival kicks off Friday at La Villita and a local artist is preparing to put her work on display.
- Butterflies on giant skull represent migrants
- Her piece is 1 of 18 skulls to be displayed
- Artist came from Mexico to San Antonio
The artist, Regina Moya, is hoping to send an important message.
Bright orange butterflies on a vivid blue background cover the giant skull she painted. She chose butterflies because they’re the symbol of migrants.
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Her piece is one of 18 skulls that will be featured in San Antonio's Day of the Dead Festival over the weekend. Moya wants to use her art as a teaching tool. She wants to tell a story she says we're not used to hearing.
"Sometimes we tend to talk about migrants like, 'Oh those poor people,'" said Moya. "We always get these very violent or dramatic messages of what's going on.”
Moya, a migrant herself, moved to San Antonio from Mexico. She says migration is everywhere and Day of the Dead is no different. It’s a day when it's believed the spirits of the dead come back to visit with loved ones.
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A celebration, she says, that is sometimes misunderstood.
"I don't like that Halloween and Day of the Dead are so close together because they're so different and they get confused because of the skulls. Halloween is supposed to be spooky and scary and Dia de Los Muertos is supposed to be a happy, happy day. We're not afraid of people coming back and having the food and everything," she said.
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Her message is one about knowing where we come from and where we're going; never forgetting to use what we've learned to teach others along the way.