Ofelia Esparza

Ofelia Esparza (born 1932) is a Chicana altar installation artist and educator in East Los Angeles, California.

Biography Esparza was born on March 12, 1932, in East Los Angeles, California. Married for forty years, she raised nine children and one child elected to be an altarista apprentice. In 1974, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies and an Honorary Doctorate in Human Letters in 2016 from California State University, Los Angeles. In 1999, after three decades of teaching, she retired from City Terrace Elementary School. Among many other projects, the Esparza mother/daughter collaboration manage the gallery Tonalli Studio in Boyle Heights. This collection includes the yearly Community Altar, expertly crafted by Ofelia Esparza. Esparza explains how to configure the space and any restrictions or constraints of space and regulations of the venue.