{"id":5062244,"date":"2024-11-05T14:45:40","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T14:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walatinonews.com\/?p=5062244"},"modified":"2024-11-05T14:45:40","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T14:45:40","slug":"test-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/waln\/2024\/11\/05\/test-2\/","title":{"rendered":"D\u00eda de Muertos Festival Unites Community Through Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On October 26 and 27, the D\u00eda de Muertos Festival filled the Seattle Center Armory, bringing a diverse crowd to celebrate the Indigenous tradition of honoring those who have passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u00eda de Muertos, traditionally celebrated on November 1-2, is a time for families to gather with loved ones to celebrate and connect with the deceased. While the holiday is widely observed in Mexico, historians trace the traditions back to Mesoamerican cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgardo Garcia, one of the festival committee\u2019s longest-serving members, said he remembers celebrating Dia de Muertos when he lived outside of Mexico City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the only time of the year he got to see his extended family on his mother\u2019s side, Garcia said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal of the festival is to introduce the celebration to our Mexican community and share our traditions with the rest of the community at large,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt is a way to get to know the holiday beyond the stereotypes and to rid the misconceptions from the celebration. It is not something dark, but a way to stay close to family, culture, and home and to make a community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival consists of two full days of speeches, dances, music, and various performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was organized by a five-person committee, which included volunteers from local Latino groups, including the UW Department of Spanish, the Mexican Consulate in Seattle, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This festival has deep roots in the Seattle community. It was first launched in 1998 in the South Park neighborhood at Concord Elementary School, though it relocated to West Seattle for two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After outgrowing its previous venues, the festival moved again in 2003, but this time to the Seattle Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the festival attracts as many as 8,000 visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendees can participate in several traditional crafts including making paper flowers, skull masks, sugar skulls, linocut prints, as well as face painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local small businesses sell traditional items and foods, including pan de muerto, tamales, and mole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art filled the Armory, including a large Tapete created by committee member and artist Fulgencio Lazo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A woman admires a large altar decorated with cempas\u00fachil flowers, trinkets, skulls and food. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo:<\/strong> Paige Stanley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Tapete created by artist Fulgencio Lazo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo:<\/strong> Paige Stanley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center of the festival is the altars. Traditionally, families honor their ancestors who have passed by creating altars offering photos, candles, their favorite foods, cempas\u00fachil flowers, pan de Muertos, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garcia explained that the celebration serves as a time to reflect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt helps people process mourning and find a way to leave the death experience and heal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamie Guevara, owner of Un Pedacito de mi Tierra, an artisanal jewelry business, participated in the event as a vendor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His shop sells colorful keepsakes and trinkets such as jewelry and painted skulls\u2014many of which can be found as offerings on altars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t remember your family when they die by celebrating them, they will be forgotten,\u201d Guevara said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trinkets on display in ‘Un Pedacito de mi Tierra’ shop.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo:<\/strong> Paige Stanley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of the festival this year was \u2018Ancestral Echoes.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are trying to share with the community that our ancestors had knowledge that was passed on from generations, and we are the generation that will pass it on,\u201d committee member and Artistic Director Barbara Rodriguez explained.\u201d It is important to talk with our elders and even among our peers to be the bridge between where we are now and the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the broader Seattle Center Fest\u00e1l series, the D\u00eda de Muertos Festival collaborates monthly with other festival committees to exchange outreach strategies and successes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduced in 1997, Fest\u00e1l is a series of 24 free festivals presented throughout the year that celebrate diverse cultures and identities through food, music, dance, art, film, and more. These festivals are supported by the City of Seattle, Seattle Center Foundation, 4Culture, and the ArtsFund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The D\u00eda de Muertos festival applied and received funding through the ArtsFund’s community accelerator grant program, aimed at enhancing arts and cultural experiences for Washington residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ArtsFund trusts organizations to use their funding how they see fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important to give those unrestricted funds to cultural organizations across Washington because we know that there are positive benefits of those groups in their communities,\u201d Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Communications Katy Corella, said. \u201cAnd we also know that there\u2019s a lot of \u2026 impacts having these groups uplift their cultural practices to be so open about art and inviting to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the D\u00eda de Muertos Festival, ArtsFund made grants to 811 organizations across Washington State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The D\u00eda de Muertos Festival\u2019s involvement in these larger organizations widens their contribution to the overall community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Committee member, Matt Hooks, whose wife and daughter have performed with local Mexican dance troops, said: \u201cThe cultural celebrations are important to help regain the richness of community. Each cultural group has something to offer and the more we connect the richer we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paige Stanley is a senior at the University of Washington majoring in journalism and public interest communications and minoring in data science. As a Seattle native, Paige is passionate about telling stories representing diverse cultures and voices in her hometown.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“It is not something dark, but a way to stay close to family, culture, and home and to make a community,\u201d said Edgardo Garcia, a festival committee 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