OFELIA RIVERA ESPARZA

Ofelia Rivera Esparza (1932–) is a Chicana artist, altarista, and educator from East Los Angeles, where she has lived since birth and raised nine children alongside her husband of forty years. A sixth-generation altar maker, Esparza began building public altars in 1979 at Self Help Graphics & Art, where she also became a printmaker under the tutelage of Sister Karen Boccalero. After retiring in 1999 following more than twenty-five years as an art teacher, Esparza turned her focus to her studio practice, creating hundreds of artworks that reflect her cultural roots, political activism, and creative experimentation. Her diverse practice honors womanhood, Indigenous spirituality rooted in nature, and the dignity of her community, deeply informed by her mother’s Purépecha traditions of ofrendas, nacimientos, and altars honoring Tonantzin (Our Lady of Guadalupe). She has received numerous honors, including an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma mater, California State University, Los Angeles, and the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.