As the end of October approaches the Sun City, everyone is excitedly preparing for not only Halloween, but also Dia de los Muertos. Although Day of the Dead has not received the same recognition by outsiders of the culture until recently with the release of the movie Coco, it has not stopped businesses like El Paso Museum of Arts (EPMA) from creating a fantastic event in celebration of the holiday.
“EPMA has been celebrating Dia de los Muertos for a few years and has collaborated with various local institutions and schools,” said Monica Garcia EPMA’s membership manager. “This year, we are taking Dia de los Muertos to the streets of the El Paso Downtown Arts District in celebration of art, culture and the people of this beautiful region,” said Garcia.
This year’s event will take place on November 3rd from 2pm-9pm and the parade will begin at 5pm. There will be several activities throughout the event that everyone can enjoy; from a photography session with artist Edgar Picazo, a mask-making and head piece decoration, live printmaking with master artists Francisco Delgado and Manuel Guerra.
“The event and workshops are free and open to the public,” said Garcia. “We will also have indoor and outdoor performances from 2pm-8:30pm, with the museum being open until 9pm on this evening. Outdoor performances start at 2pm with an opening set by DJ Polvo de Muertos, folklorico dances by Camino Real Ballet Folklorico, Mariachi Raices de America, Flamenco by Ruby Montana and Tlaloc Polo, Christina Gurrola (indoors) and the evening will close with a stellar performance by Orkesta Mendoza,” Garcia said.
Not only will the celebration have plenty of events and activities throughout the day, but the museum has partnered up with Chef Oscar Herrera and his restaurants (Taft Diaz, Flor de Nogal and Maria Chuchena) for a Day of the Dead themed pop-up dinner, Breaking Pan de Muerto. There will also be three food trucks available along with Dia de los Muertos bread and coffee for famished spectators.
“The pop-up dinner is a ticketed event and requires advance reservations through Taft Diaz. The five course dinner begins at 5:30pm and includes Dia de los Muertos themed dishes and delectable drinks.” To purchase your tickets visit the Eventbrite page for details, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/breaking-pan-de-muerto-tickets-51720534511.
EPMA prepares a year in advance to have everything up and running for all ages to enjoy. This event is one for the books with all that it offers: food, calaveras parade, tours, altars, indoor/outdoor performances and workshops that prepare attendees for El Paso’s’ first Dia de los Muertos parade, with larger than life marionettes, designed by artists Colectivo Ultima Hora, as seen in the 007 film Spectre. The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Dancers will lead the parade at this year’s Dia de los Muertos celebration. There will also be plenty of places to park in the downtown area so attendees can quickly participate in the activities.
“We encourage everyone to join the festivities, dress up, wear masks and be a part of the procession/parade at 5pm. We will provide a detailed event schedule and map of parade route before the event on our Facebook page and website,” said Garcia.
EPMA Membership supports this and many other museum programming and the Dia de los Muertos event is sponsored by Wells Fargo, El Paso Electric and the El Paso Museum of Art Foundation, with Atomic Wax sponsoring the DJ performance.
To become a member, contact the membership department at 915-212-3068 or email us at [email protected]. Memberships start at $25 a year. Visit El Paso Museum of Art’s website www.epma.art for additional information.
