Celebrating Day of the Dead in Canberra

Posted on 22 October, 2018

The skulls may fool you, but this festival is a celebration of life.

Ever been in awe of Mexico and its fascinating culture but never had the chance to get over there? This November, one of Mexico’s most well-known festivals is coming to Canberra.

Day of the Dead, or Dia de Muertos, is a holiday celebrated in Central and Southern Mexico from 1-2 November. Even though this coincides with the Catholic holiday called All Soul’s and All Saint’s Day, the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient beliefs of honouring their deceased loved ones.

Many Mexicans believe that the gates of the afterlife are opened at midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased children – knows as angelitos – are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours. On November 2, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them. The tradition goes that people would visit cemeteries, they would clean the graves and lay flowers, making them look as good as new. There would be music, tequila and mezcal. And food, lots of food.

Here in Canberra, The Day of the Dead Fiesta will be a full day of activities for all ages, with performances, face painting, mountains of Mexican food and even an afterparty to dance off all those extra tacos.

The ancient tradition of making ofrendas, or offerings to the deceased on altars, will be on display at the festival to remember our loved ones that have passed. This year the ofrenda will be fundraising for Playing For Change’s Mexican Baja Musical Arts Initiative in Tijuana, Mexico. This program uses free music education as fuel for positive change in poor communities. A wonderful reason to come and celebrate with likeminded Canberrans and learn about what Mexican culture has to offer.

For Karina Salgado, the Day of the Dead has been a prominent celebration in her life for as long as she can remember. Growing up in Mexico, she arrived in Canberra in 2009 but remembers huge gatherings in Mexico City as celebrations of the best things in life.

Karina is this year’s MC for the Canberra Day of the Dead Fiesta and will also be performing her own monologue in traditional Dia de los Muertos dress as the icon La Calavera Catrina. La Catrina, the day’s most recognizable womanly figure, represents a connection between the fear created by her skeletal form and the revelry exhibited by the comical way she is typically portrayed, making her a perfect symbol of the Mexican holiday.

“People often confuse Dia de Muertos with Halloween as they are celebrated so close together, however they are very different,”  explains Karina.

“Dia de Muertos is a much older tradition of Hispanic history, dating back about 3000 years. There are different perceptions of Day of the Dead since there are many skeletons and skulls, people think of death and misunderstand, but it is more about celebrating life and what life has to offer, remembering our loved ones who aren’t on this earth anymore.”

“UNESCO has called the Day of the Dead a cultural heritage of humanity, which I think is really amazing for the longevity of Mexican culture.”

The Day of the Dead Fiesta will be held on Saturday 10 November from 2 – 11 pm at the Ainslie Arts Centre. Many local and international performers will take to the stage, from traditional Mexican folk dancing by Mexico Lindo, Capoeira Senzala performing Brazilian martial arts, and plenty of DJs and music performances including Afro Moses, Los Chavos and Raio De Sol.

There will also be face painting of traditional calaveras or skulls and the event is all ages.

An afterparty will be held at the new and improved Smiths Alternative, featuring Afro-Latin Vibes when FunkyTrop performs live and Latin Vinyl Specialist DJ Randy Castilla from 11.30 pm.

Tickets start from $17 per child under 15, $35 for adults and $85 per family of four, available from Eventbrite.