The ‘Mikiztli: Día de Los Muertos Festival’ is celebrating 13 years of tradition this Sunday, October 17th and will feature music, art, and cultural performances when it takes place at Steele Indian School Park.
“And it’s a favorite one [referring to a Día de Los Muertos celebration] because you get to go out and celebrate being Mexican or being Indigenous, and celebrate your ancestors in a community way, which is how it’s done in most places in Latin America, in Mexico, especially,” Carmen Guerrero, the executive director of the Cultural Coalition Inc. who help organize the event, said, according to ABC 15.
This year’s festival will feature dozens of booths hosting art vendors, craft activities, live performances and even a community altar.
“There [are] all kinds of traditions [surrounding an altar for Día de Los Muertos], and different regions have variations of those traditions, like what they do in Oaxaca is different from what they do in Sonora, but everybody comes out or has an altar in their homes,” Guerrero said, per the report. “And some of us don’t have roots in Mexico, but we want to celebrate what we have. So that’s how we do it, as a community offering, as a community event.”
“So, people can come and write a note to their beloved departed and leave it on this altar. And then at sunset, around 5:30 we’re going to burn the penas [sorrows…] we gather all those thoughts, all those writings -most of them by children- and then we burn them, and their smoke goes up into the heaven as an offering that we are remembering them, that they’re not really gone, as long as they are in our hearts” she continued. “We have over 40 booths around our stage, and so we present a lot of dances and music, most of the characters and most of the people are wearing masks or makeup, and then we’re celebrating our ancestors in a community venue, which is the still Indian School Park.”
The festivities will kick off with a ‘blessing’ by Danza Mexica which Guerrero explains is “a beautiful dance, which is a millennial dance [it] has been doing in Mexico for 1000’s, for hundreds of years.”
“There’s going to be all kinds of art activities for the children, beginning with mask making. But everybody, every vendor or every booth, [is] asked to have an activity for the children, to engage the kids. So, this festival is primarily for children. They are our next generation, and they need to learn as much as possible about this tradition […] to keep the tradition alive. Everybody can go, it’s open and free to all. We don’t charge admission. Please wear something comfortable, it might be on the warmer side than any cooler side.”
Here is a rundown of what the event has planned, via ABC 15:
- Sunday, October 27, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Event venue: Steele Indian School Park [300 E Indian School Rd] in Phoenix.
- What to expect: Performances, art, a community altar, vendors, and more.
- Free admission.
- According to Guerrero, Mikiztli is translated to the ‘feast of the spirits,’ as to Día de Los Muertos, the traditions vary from region to region in Mexico and what families adopt in their practices.
