Dia de los Muertos (Day of The Dead) Celebration

Dia de los Muertos (Day of The Dead)

Altars commemorating Day of The Dead will be posted at Four Rivers Cultural Center.  The altars will be put up on Friday, October 21 and will be posted for viewing until November 18.  The altar exhibit grand opening will be, October 21 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.   Come join us for food and beverages.  Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo from Boise and under the direction of Monique N. Michel-Duarte will perform at 7:00 PM.  Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo is a community based dance group from downtown Nampa, Idaho. Established in 2003, director and owner Monique Michel-Duarte originally established the group with 4 students in her friend’s garage. The dance company now has a membership of 50 + students aged six years old on up to adults. Folklorico dance classes are offered for children and adults beginning at age 6 and up. Toddler classes are also held the first Friday of every month.

Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo performs traditional Mexican folkloric dances in and around the Treasure Valley. Dressed in full costume with Day of the Dead masks, their show is spectacular.  Their performances include public, private, civic and commercial events. They have performed in all five states in the Pacific Northwest, including California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Idaho.

Altars  can be viewed at Four Rivers Cultural Center from 9:00 – 5:00 PM on Monday through Friday and 10:00- 5:00 PM on Saturday.   Many local citizens will be posting altars, and soliciting other families to participate in Four Rivers Cultural Center’s fourth Day of the Dead celebration exhibit.

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takes place on November 1, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased with items that represent them and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.
Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec  festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world: In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed events appear in many Asian and African cultures.
The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to its indigenous pagan cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years.  In the pre-Hispanic era, skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.