Mapping-Ofrenda: mapping as mourning in the context of migration

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper proposes the concept of mapping-ofrenda, which envisions mapping as a form of mourning and remembering while living in the context of migration. Inspired by the traditional Mexican ofrenda, the mapping-ofrenda aims to collect, curate, and represent posthumous memories. It can be produced collaboratively or individually, built with physical or digital maps, shared with other people, or kept private, and be dedicated to a single deceased or to an entire community. Through the process of co-designing two online ofrenda-maps with two Latina-American women living in Montreal (Canada) we identified some of the potential of mapping-ofrenda, including its capacity to stimulate our memories and remember stories on the verge of disappearing, to ground them to places, and to share them with people that might live far away. Mapping-ofrenda can also be a way of making visible the global geography of migration through highly intimate memories and acknowledging both the very personal and the highly universal need to remember and grieve. Finally, the main value of mapping-ofrenda in the context of migration, may be its capacity to reactivate and strengthen existing links and connections between people that are still alive but that may live far away.