PHOENIX — With music, art, and cultural performances, ‘Mikiztli: Día de Los Muertos Festival’ returns to Steele Indian School Park!
ABC15’s Nicole Gutierrez sat down with Carmen Guerrero, the executive director of the Cultural Coalition Inc., who helps put on this massive event each year in the Valley for an in-depth conversation on what this annual event means for our community.
“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,” said Carmen Guerrero.
The festival will have dozens of booths with art vendors, including craft activities, performances, and 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,” said Guerrero. “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.”
At the festival, the attendees can leave a note at the community altar.
“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,” explained Guerrero.
WHAT TO EXPECT
“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,” said Guerrero.
The evening starts with a ‘blessing’ by Danza Mexica. “They do a beautiful dance, which is a millennial dance [it] has been doing in Mexico for 1000’s, for hundreds of years,” said Guerrero. Other performances that day will include mariachis.
“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,” said Guerrero to ABC15 in an interview.
“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,” reiterated Guerrero.
- 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.
The video in the player above showcases some of the best things to do in the Valley this October. Read more about it here.