Come with us (Lidia & Oscar) to the Penn Museum this Saturday, October 23^rd to celebrate in advance the Día de los Muertos (Mexican Halloween)!  

“Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a lively holiday blending Indigenous Mexican beliefs and traditions with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.  With roots in rituals dating back 3,000 years to pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Día de los Muertos is observed across Latin America and in Latino communities worldwide. Explore the unique history, traditions, and expressions of this celebration of life and death.  Learn about the ornate and colorful altars that honor the dead (and encourage them to join the party!) with bright yellow marigolds, food, drinks, and photos.  Discover the origins of the iconic smiling calacas y calaveras (skeletons and skulls) that are seen on candy, masks, dolls, and more across parades, vigils, and gatherings”. ( https://www.penn.museum/calendar/964/culturefest )

This is a full day festival starting at 11am and ending by 4:00pm.  There will be guided tours through the Mexican and Central American galleries in the museum, an artisan market, dance and music performances, art activities, elaborate stepped fret patterns decoration or grecas escalonadas, a huge altar by local artist Cesar Viveros, and traditional sweet bread and hot chocolate!  Here is the schedule of events:

As much as we would love to, we cannot attend all of them because we don’t have that much time.  We are thinking of going 3:00 - 4:00 pm, so that we can taste the sweet bread and chocolate.  Tickets are good for a one-hour entry window, so we may enter the Museum at any time during that hour and explore the galleries at our own pace.  They are free for Penn students and faculty, but we still need to reserve them.  Please RSVP at lleon@upenn.edu or omontoya@upenn.edu by Friday 10/22 at 4pm, so that we can make the reservation!  We will be leaving from KCECH’s main entrance on Saturday 10/23 at 2:30 pm.