The Ducks will celebrate Dia De Muertos Sunday night at Honda Center with unique festivities planned throughout the night.
In preparation for the annual celebration, the Ducks turned to four local artists to craft the perfect look for the night and help bring the experience to life.
AnaheimDucks.com caught up with those artists to learn more about their backgrounds, inspirations and role in the Dia De Muertos celebration.
Local Artists Help Bring Dia De Muertos Celebration to Life
Gustavo Jaimes
A tattooer and artist by trade, Jaimes remembers when the Ducks came to town in 1993 and how he felt "instantly hooked" after attending his first game. He remembers an early love of goalies because "they were the ones with the artwork on their masks".
"Thats what got me into hockey," Jaimes said. "I love the history of hockey, how old it is. I love the teams, the uniforms and the logos."
Jaimes designed the warm-up jerseys the Ducks will wear pregame Sunday night, an admittedly surreal experience after drawing the Mighty Ducks logo thousands of time in classes throughout the years.
"It's going to be unreal to just see them for real," Jaimes said through a big smile. "I would just love to have that in my family history. Seeing the photos and having it live on past me, I'm incredibly proud and stoked to be a part of this."
Jaimes knows the moment seeing the Ducks walk out of the tunnel and onto the ice in his jerseys will be an emotional one.
"I'm shaking now just talking about it," he said. "I can only imagine the feeling. It's going to be very surreal. I can't tell how it's going to hit me. Like wow, this is real. I would have never, never imagined this in my wildest dreams."
He said the holiday's theme of rememberance inspired him to create a jersey featuring the club's original logo combined with the celebration's classic use of bright, vibrant colors.
"You honor the past and you don't forget about your loved ones," Jaimes said. "It's a time to be joyous, remember them and have a good time."
Jaimes is also proud to be a key part of an night meant to welcome more new fans into a community he dearly loves.
"To see my friends being represented in their culture feels amazing," Jaimes said. "I've always appreciated how much support the Ducks put into this and the community, keeping traditions alive and exposing them to people that don't know about it, showing the history of it. It's a huge role.
"I think it brings in people who had no idea they could be represented by a sports team, you know? Especially for it to be their local one, like this. It makes people become a hockey fan and want to be a part of it."
Jaimes, who also designed a Dia De Muertos poster for the Ducks in 2019, hopes to be back for more in future years as well.
"This is how you make a change," he said. "You want to have people you can identify with....Being able to be with people that are like-minded and people that look like me, it's amazing. You don't feel so alone. You feel like you know it and it's such a nice connection."
Kimberley Duran and Bud Herrera
Duran and Herrera are known as the "Heavy Collective", traveling up and down the West Coast and specializing in custom art.
Based in downtown Santa Ana, the two have been everwhere from San Diego to LA to Mexico City, working with universities, businesses and even recently the Santa Ana Police Department.
They describe their style as unifying and organic, a mixture of fine art and edge.
"We use a lot of movemement, and the reason a lot of people come to us is we engage with communities and do a lot of story telling," Duran said. "We never want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Our art is not controversial. It is unifying. It brings people together. It transforms spaces."
"Universal would be a good way to put it," Herrera added. "It can't be misconstrued as any kind of negative."
After the Ducks management saw the collective's mural in downtown Santa Ana, Duran and Herrera were asked to create the promotional poster for tonight's celebration. They both said the priority was to ensure their design portrayed the sacredness of the holiday.
"When I develop the work, I try to always keep in mind and be mindful of where it comes from," Herrera said. "I try to do it justice. I look at it as something sacred to a lot of people. People literally go out of their way to make alters of their family members and pay respect, dedicate and devote to that...You're showing respect and homage, but at the same time, there is a deeper meaning behind it."
"It represents embracing my roots and where I come from," Duran said. "It's exciting to see that it's more accepted to practice these traditions and kind of evoke that into people of all colors."
Herrera said he hopes those unfamiliar with the history of the holiday take a moment Sunday to take it all in and observe the beauty of the art.
"Ultimately art is beautiful regardless, whether you understand it or not, that's the beauty of art," Herrera said. "You can interpret it in whatever manner you chose. That's why, a lot of times, when we produce art, we never really put words on it to allow the viewer to know there's no right or wrong answer. You can interpret it however you want.
"You're here for the hockey. That's dope. But you can see like a different twist and can say, wow that's interesting. It's taking you out of your comfort zone and out of the norm...Enjoy the game and what you're here to do and we'll kind of give them a different perspective."
Jose Ortiz
Ortiz has proudly followed in his father's footsteps. The son of a mural artist now specializing in the same trade, Ortiz's newest creation will be on display Sunday outside Honda Center.
"I wasn't a bad student but it was hard for me to retain information for tests and homework, but when it came to drawing, I was just so comfortable," Ortiz recalled. "I was like, 'wait a minute. I want to be like my dad.' I started noticing my drawings were pretty good. So I decided it was what I want to do.
"The feeling of it is special. People appreciate it. They appreciate the art."
Ortiz, who loves drawing animals most of all and decorates his house with his most fierce depictions as motivation, is on the other side of the mentor-mentee relationship now, teaching his two daughters to paint.
"They love it now," he said with an ear-to-ear grin. "They start with their pencil work and beginning to paint with acrylics. It's just amazing."
There is one downside to the new helping hands in the house, though.
"They write everywhere," Ortiz laughed. "You think you can be prepared as a parent, but with the paints, they're going to write on the walls, on the couch, on the ground. They will not care."
Ortiz said the mural this Sunday allowed him to learn more about the holiday's history and fostered a greater appreciation for those gone before him.
"It's about celebrating life," he said. "It makes you go back to the time when you were a kid...That's what I want the work to express.
"It's a pleasure, more like an honor, to be part of it. We're bringing the culture together, bringing more people together. You're paying attention to others. I appreciate it."
