16th Annual
Dia de los Muertos
Day of the Dead
Procession and Community Altar
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Procession begins at 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Solano Avenue and The Alameda
The Aztec dance group, Cuatli Mitotani Mexica, will lead our procession down Solano Avenue to Gathering Tribes on the corner of Solano Avenue & Santa Fe. The dancers will perform a blessing dance and speak about the meaning of Dia de los Muertos.
Depending on the weather, the community altar will either be outside of Gathering Tribes on the Santa Fe side or inside the gallery.
Please bring photos of your departed beloved (copies if you plan on leaving them on the altar), flowers, food/beverage to feed the dead, candles and written memorials to your loved ones.
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You are also welcome to bring drums, rattles and other appropriate music-makers to use during the procession.
The Day of the Dead is an ancient indigenous celebration from our brothers and sisters to the south which is approximately 3,000 years old. It celebrates those who have gone on to the world of spirits. It is a time of joy and remembering, a time to tell stories about our loved ones, and feed them their favorite foods and beverages. The indigenous belief is that the life that we live here in the material world is actually the "dream" and that our true life doesn't begin until we die.
Thus, much of the folk art is humorous and makes fun of how seriously some of the living take our temporary journey here. You will see humorous wedding couples, skeletons in suits, with tennis rackets, on horses, behind desks and more!
Home altars will have some of this folk art, marigolds (a flower thought to attract the dead), candles (one for each person on the altar and an extra for those who might have been forgotten), food, beverages, cigarettes & cigars, "papel picados" (intricately cut paper with skulls and skeletons on them), specially made bread in the shapes of skulls and skeletons, water & salt. Folk art reminding loved ones of their beloved departed are also placed on the altar, bringing smiles when they reflect the lives of the dead. Favorite personal items of the loved ones are also placed on the altar.
It is believed that during this autumn time, the veils are thin between this world and the spirit world and that loved ones can come to visit and partake of the offerings given them.
Gathering Tribes has sponsoring this community Dia de los Muertos event since 1995. Free instructions on how to make your own altar are available at the gallery, as is a wonderful selection of folk art.