(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Dia de los Muertos celebrations started on the first weekend of November at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, drawing hundreds to honor and remember loved ones who have passed.
“We don’t want the dead to get lost,” said Azul Bernal, a face painter at the event.
The event, which began on Saturday, Nov. 1, and continues on Sunday, Nov. 2, includes a variety of activities such as face painting, a live mariachi band, ballet folklorico, a costume parade, and community altars. It serves as a cultural gathering to celebrate life and remember those who have died.
Roxane Upray, owner of Momotaro and a vendor at the event, explained, “You’re going to find different places where they have an altar with these photographs. And you’re very welcome to put one of yours if you want to.”
“It’s very important because I can share my culture, I can share where I’m from, who am I, to represent how friendly Latinos and immigrants we are,” said Upray.
The holiday is celebrated worldwide and holds significant cultural meaning, with the first day honoring children who have passed and the second day honoring adults.
“It signifies getting closer to that, you know, because this is supposed to be the day where we honor and remember loved ones who have passed,” said Bernal.
The event features vendors from different cultures selling traditional items that represent their heritage. Upray mentioned, “It’s a little chick, for us it means a new start. We have these little llamas, for us, it means they help us to carry on [through] our problems, our heartaches, that’s why this little llama has always carried on things.”
Mariachi Tigre, a student group from Colorado College, performed popular mariachi songs, including the iconic song ‘La Llorona,’ which carries cultural significance. Alicia Rose Martinez, Co-Director of Mariachi Tigre, explained, “Everyone has their own story layered on it. But essentially, she’s a woman who was kind of thwarted by her lover, and she decided to drown her children in the river, and she spends the rest of her eternity searching for her children in the river, and so she kind of embodies a lot of different cultural elements for Mexican people.”
The Dia de los Muertos event at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center offers a vibrant celebration of life and remembrance, bringing together diverse cultural expressions and community participation.
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