The AT&T Dallas Día de Los Muertos parade and festival are set to commence this Saturday, October 29.
Día de Los Muertos is a Spanish holiday whose name translates to Day of the Dead, officially celebrated on November 1. The holiday is associated with All Soul’s Day in Western Christian culture and involves families paying their respects to the dead, but is usually a joyful celebration.
The third annual Día de Los Muertos parade and festival, hosted by Día de Los Muertos USA and the Navarro Group, will take place at Dallas City Hall Plaza in downtown Dallas from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The parade commences at 7 p.m. and will begin and end at Dallas City Hall.
On Tuesday, October 25, the organizers of the Dallas event are holding a press conference concerning the upcoming celebration on October 29. The press conference is at 11 a.m. at Dallas City Hall in the Flag Room.
Many city council members will make their remarks at the press conference, primarily Dr. Elba Garcia, Dallas County commissioner and honorary grand marshal.
Additionally, representatives of the events’ sponsors, including AT&T, El Rancho Supermercado, and primary beneficiary the Blue Guardian Foundation, will have a chance to speak, as will its featured artists.
The Día de Los Muertos event is family-friendly and free to attend. In the 2019 celebration, over 40,000 people came to the event. Organizers this year are expecting a fiesta of similar proportions.
“Coming out of post-pandemic, we hope the attendance to be bigger,” said Mauricio Navarro, managing partner and producer of Día de Los Muertos LLC, to The Dallas Express.
“We don’t do it for us,” Navarro continued. “We do it for our community and to preserve this tradition”
Día de Los Muertos is a hallmark of Mexican culture to honor loved ones who have passed. According to Mexican tradition, creating ofrendas (offerings) and engaging in celebrations allows spirits to rejoin their families for 24 hours.
There will be delicious food, fantastic costumes, and local vendors selling traditional handmade crafts which, according to Navarro, are “not the kind of stuff you’ll find in a supermarket.”
Additionally, the festival invites the public to participate in activities that maintain tradition, such as contests in creating ofrendas and designing Catrina costumes. La Catrina is one of the most well-recognized symbols of the Day of the Dead, usually depicted as a tall and slender skeleton woman wearing a hat decorated with feathers. The winners of these contests will take home cash prizes.
In the ofrenda contest, the festival invites local artists to participate and create ofrendas to honor a loved one. Each ofrenda will be judged and the winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday, October 26.
In the Catrina Contest, guests are encouraged to dress up with skull makeup and bright costumes to further engage with the festivities. The one whose makeup and costume designs impress the most will win $1,000; second and third place will win $500 and $250, respectively. The contest will be held on the main festival stage at 8 p.m.
For aspiring participants in the Catrina contest, Navarro says to “be ready.”
He continued, “it’s crazy how much time is invested… we’re talking make-up artists, custom gowns. To make a great Catrina outfit it takes a village.”
The festival will feature several musical artists, such as local Dallas band El Grupo Cache and local mariachi performer El Gallo Giro. Following the closing parade, the Official Artist of the Festival, Alfredo Piña, will pass the title down to the next Official Artist of the Festival, Jesus Delgado Jr.
After the performances, Jaxon Beer Garden will host an afterparty with live music performed by “heavy metal mariachi band” Metalachi and DJ Turo.
