Heading into the house near downtown, a black sign with white lettering welcomes visitors to enter the “Home Sweet Haunted Home” – a harbinger of what awaits inside.
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A pair of metal black spiders, as big as footballs, crawled atop a white mantle piece. Grinning pumpkins anchored tabletops. A veil, dotted with thumbnail-sized red arachnids, encircled dining room lights.
Beneath the lights’ glow, San Antonio makeup artist Geraldine Salinas began transforming her sister Jessica Santellan into one of the living dead.
Well, at least half of her face.
Salinas has built a career as a makeup artist, and her work is especially in demand around Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The two-day holiday, celebrated on Nov. 1-2, honors loved ones and friends who have died with offerings of flowers, photographs and favorite foods placed on offerings or altars.
Face-painting for Día de los Muertos is a cultural tradition that honors deceased loved ones and represents the cycle of life and death.
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A 22-year veteran of the Air Force, Vincent T. Davis embarked on a second career as a journalist and found his calling. Observing and listening across San Antonio, he finds intriguing tales to tell about everyday people. He shares his stories with Express-News subscribers every Monday morning.
As Salinas worked on creating the skull-life painting for her sister’s face, she began with a covering of white base makeup. She followed with a swath of orange shadow from the temple to the mouth, beneath a swirled black line stretched like a worm. Six single strokes of black paint made half of Santellan’s lips appear dry and drawn like a skeleton’s cracked mouth. A comma-like curve of blackness left half of a skeletal nasal cavity.
Red, water-based paint around her sister’s right eye socket resembled the layer beneath her skin. Black and red circles dotted three quarters of the socket. White costume gems filled the open space, with more applied on the forehead and chin. The final touches of the 20-minute metamorphosis was a dramatic eyelash and crown of silk flowers – all representing the love and memories of those who have gone before them.
“I love it,” said Santellan, 51, checking her reflection in a hand mirror. “I love the little stones.”
‘I love to transform people’
Painting faces for Día de los Muertos has been keeping Salinas busy for the past 12 years. Salinas charges between $60 to $125 for a face painting, depending on how intricate the detail is and the event. During her career, she’s worked on a range of events that include fashion shows, weddings, quincenaneras, short films, parades and political campaigns.
Salinas works year-round as a makeup artist, and she said her work isn’t all about beauty. Sometimes it’s about making someone feel good about themselves.
Her motto, “Give good face for any occasion,” is printed on her business cards.
“I love to transform people,” said Salinas, 47. “I started learning to put makeup on all genders, ages and types at a young age. It’s all about making connections with people.”
ALSO READ: San Antonians honor their departed loved ones on Día de los Muertos
The ‘Makeup Hustler’
Salinas’ makeup chair bears her nickname – “Makeup Hustler.” Twenty years ago, she was a single mother working a day job when a high school friend and another pal enlisted her to help paint and powder faces of a burlesque troupe. She didn’t get paid, but she had fun using her aunt’s Avon lipsticks. Salinas started accompanying her friends to competitions. Five fashion shows later, she was part of the hair and makeup community.
Her interest in art began as a child, watching her maternal grandfather paint the world around him. That led to art classes and a period of drawing expressive eyes. As a teen, she’d bleach friends’ hair different colors that left her with rainbow-colored hands.
Twelve years ago, painting her first Halloween face took two hours. She’d posted a photo of her face on her Instagram page and got a ping – the owner of Soho bar called and wanted her to paint his staff. Beforehand, she practiced scary clown faces on her 8-year-old son and his friend to test the makeup.
At the bar, a construction light lit the dark area while she made up 11 Soho staffers. Salinas worked for two hours without stopping. She was thirsty and her back hurt. The bright light shining in her face prevented her realizing a wall of people were watching her work. When she finally saw the crowd, she froze.
“No, babe, keep going,” said a woman who was nursing a cocktail. “You’re doing great.”
When the fledgling makeup artist finished, she was amazed as bartenders, wearing her painted faces, served wide-eyed patrons.
“I was like, ‘I did that,’” Salinas said. “I couldn’t stop smiling.”
Word spread, leading to more work at Liberty Bar, The Cove and Green Dog Kennels. She became so busy she had to send team members to take care of clients as far away as Austin. Team members also live in Houston, Austin, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
It was all part-time work. Her day job was managing hotels, restaurants and bars. Her father, David Salinas, saw she wasn’t happy on that career path and encouraged her to follow her heart into the makeup industry.
After her father died, she said, the grief of losing him pushed her to follow his advice. She quit her job and picked up three different types of work: MAC Cosmetics, working at a senior living community and a UPS Store. The arrangement allowed more time with her son. She said her husband, Michael Lucio, is the reason she’s able to work her current schedule.
“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful man,” Salinas said. “He’s my biggest supporter.”
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‘We keep them alive’
After finishing the recent session painting her sister’s face, Salinas was headed home, where 70 sanitized brushes lay spread out on towels, ready for use. But first, she and her sister stood on the front porch and lamented that it seems every year that they have to add more photos to their offering, as they lose more friends and family members.
“It allows us the opportunity to remember and celebrate them,” Salinas said. “I really enjoy that in our culture.”
It’s become a tradition for their family to honor their father, their grandfather, aunts and uncles and even puppies. They look forward to placing a glass of wine, conchas, chocolate candy whoppers and dog treats among marigolds, candles and framed photos that line the red-cloth draped shelves.
Each year, they say, they’ve noticed odd things happening, like items on plates mysteriously rolling onto the table.
“We keep them alive that way,” said Santellan, her face painted a mirror of life and death. “They’re probably having a party up there.”
This article originally published at How an SA makeup artist helps bring life to Day of the Dead celebrations.
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