Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) continues to grow in Sacramento with the announcement of Día de Los Muertos Oak Park. On November 2, community members will create a space for altares (tributes) made for family and other loved ones, dance performances, artist showcases, food vendors, kids’ arts and crafts, traditional Mexican music and much more, to come together at The Brickhouse Gallery and Art Complex.
Presented by a group of community members inspired to promote and maintain this Mexican tradition, Día de los Muertos Oak Park has set out to educate the public and promote arts and culture in the area through a series of lectures and workshops aimed to help build cultural awareness and provide a space for the Latino community to engage with their neighbors and share their culture.
Throughout the month of October, new and old members of the community have come together for interactive events, such as the “Calavera Paint and Sip,” while others have joined the conversation by going to the “Anthropology of Dia de Los Muertos,” a lecture presented by American River College Professor AnnMarie Beasley Cisneros.
During one of last year’s lectures, entitled “The Aesthetics and History of Sacramento’s Día de los Muertos,” Rudy Cuellar, a founding member of the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), touched on the RCAF’s involvement at the Washington Neighborhood Center, where they operated for a while. Some of the RCAF art projects still adorn walls at Sacramento State, Southside Park, across the way from the downtown Macy’s and inside the tunnel from Macy’s to Old Sacramento. All pieces, a testament to the grand influence this event has on our local communities.
Here is a list of (mostly) free events to look forward to this week and next throughout Sacramento:
- Oct. 26 – Día de Los Muertos Oak Park will hold an “Interactive Sugar Skull Workshop” at the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. This event is a family friendly event. The workshop will be conducted by Rob-O Sugar Skull Artist. There’s a $10 fee for materials and advance registration is required for this and other workshops.
- Oct. 28 – Dia de Los Muertos Paint Night presented by the Washington Neighborhood Center invites the 21+ crowd to bring their own beer or wine for a guided paint session from 7-9pm. Be sure to purchase your ticket ahead of time.
- Oct. 29 – “Skulls and Skeletons: Day of the Dead Printmaking Workshop” held by Sol Collective at the Sacramento History Museum.
- Oct. 29 – 30 – The Latino Center of Art and Culture will celebrate their 7th Annual El Panteón de Sacramento in honor of Dia de Los Muertos 2016. The outdoor parking area between J and K street and 20th and 21st Street will serve as the venue for this event.
- Nov. 2 – The longest running Día de Los Muertos celebration in Sacramento will celebrate its 42nd year at the Washington Neighborhood Center. The celebration will begin with a procession from 1-2pm beginning at All Hallows Church and ending at St. Mary’s Cemetery with a Catholic Mass at 3 pm.
- Nov. 5 – Dia de Los Muertos Celebration on the 1849 Scene in Old Sacramento at the Sacramento History Museum.
For more information on these events, visit dayofthedeadOP.com.
