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Día De Los Muertos Festival In Mesa Is Virtual This Year

By Tom Maxedon
Published: Friday, October 23, 2020 - 2:02pm

Day of the Dead-Sugar Skulls
Paul Ramirez
Sugar Skulls at the 2014 celebration of Día de los Muertos festival in Mesa hosted by Mesa Arts Center. This year's celebration will be virtual on Oct. 24, 2020.

The arts community in the Phoenix area continues to find ways to stay connected to supporters and patrons by offering virtual events.

That includes Saturday’s Día de los Muertos festival in Mesa.

Mandy Tripoli, director of community engaged practice at Mesa Arts Center said the event will feature workshops, a virtual mercado, ballet and music. 

“One of our signature pieces of the festival is that it closes with Mariachi Pasión, which is an all-female mariachi group. They will be performing live and streaming into your home.”

The free event will also feature a performance by La Luz de la Luna, a special video presentation of the world-renowned Ballet Folklorico de México de Amalia Hernández and workshops on cooking and making an offrenda. 

Traditionally, the cultural celebration begins on Nov. 1, but Mesa has historically held its festival on this weekend in October and has drawn crowds of more than 20,000 people in the past when it was an in-person event, according to Tripoli.

The festival will stream from 12-3 p.m., and you can find more information at the event website.

Mariachi Pasión
Mariachi Pasión
Mariachi Pasión is a Valley-based all female mariachi group. They will perform virtually for people to stream online at the Mesa Arts Center's website on Oct. 24, 2020.