It was supposed to be cathartic. Healing. To bring a sense of peace and closure to a difficult experience. Instead it was like opening the wound all over again. Grief is complicated. Father/daughter relationships are complicated. At least mine is. Was. Is. See what I mean? When I saw the announcement for this year’s Panteón Sacramento, put on by La Raza Galería Posada, I saw it as an opportunity for my sister and my son and me to do something that we hadn’t been allowed to do properly: memorialize my father. He died unexpectedly over just a couple of days in May of 2010. He was 68. His third wife took charge of the memorial, which was a sort of open house, and the obituary, whi

Día de los Muertos—Day of the Dead--is a Mexican tradition that stems from Meso-American societies, and was heavily influenced during the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in the XIV Century. During Día de los Muertos families create ofrendas (offerings) for loved ones who have passed. Día de los Muertos is observed in various forms throughout the American Continent and is an important pillar of Mexican, Latino and Chicano culture in the United States (La Raza Galeria Posada). Although the Day of the Dead actually falls on November 1st, festivities are being held this weekend by La Raza Galeria Posada in a special location, between J and K, 20th and 21st Streets in Midtown. The central focus i

Culminating the Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos festivities this year, La Raza Galería Posada, Sacramento’s not-for-profit Latino art and cultural center, brings the Panteon de Sacramento (Sacramento’s Cemetery) to life.This is a two day/night outdoor display of fifty large, colorful altares. The altares will be available for public viewing on Saturday October 29 and Sunday October 30. Families, individuals, area artists and local not for profit organizations will build the altares for public display.Theatre, music, poets and children's workshops are all part of the two-day event. In Sacramento, Día de los Muertos has been celebrated since the early 1970s, commensurate with the Galería’

Radiant Mexican Singer Martha Toledo Debuts in Sacramento; Songs Speak of Respect and Dignity for Latin American Women La Raza Galería Posada, Sacramento’s nonprofit hub for Latino/Chicano and Native arts cultural programming, continues to bring rare,compelling and exciting music concerts to their intimate performance space in Midtown. Martha Toledo is an internationally recognized performer whose commanding presence embodies the sensibility and majesty of the Oaxacan culture. A Zapotec singer from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Oaxaca, Mexico, her soulful sound evokes the pulsing, vibrant rhythm of her country's music legacy. Many of these songs carry the contemporary message of

Forty organizations and individuals will be creating altars as art exhibits for a Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos: El Panteon de los Muertos) celebration on Sunday and Monday. This exhibit is presented by La Raza Galería Posada. Traditionally, these type of altars – which celebrate the life or honor the death of a loved one – are decorated with sugar skulls, photographs, flowers and other symbolic items reflecting a person whose life is being celebrated. Although there will be around 40 displays created by organizations and individuals, there will also be some community altars that will be available for anyone who wishes to participate. The Día de los Muertos exhibit will be held r

Why worry about Halloween plans when you can just read The Sacramento Press' guide to Halloween events? Remember these Halloween safety tips, click each title for more information and enjoy: Boo at the Zoo Who: 10 and under, parents. What: Trick-or-treating, magic shows, kid's haunted house, crafts, food, spooky train, creepy carousel. $9 general admission, $5 zoo members, free for children 2 and under. When: Oct. 30 and 31, 4:30 - 8 p.m. Where: Sacramento Zoo, 3930 West Land Park Drive. Pink Toupee Collective Halloween Eve Festival of Music and Merriment Who: All ages. What: Concert featuring Draw Pinky, Hell Toupee, Kelp, Marty Cohen and The Sidekicks. When: Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. doors,