Día de los Muertos 2020: A Month-Long Celebration

For the past 5 years, our team here at the MAH has had the opportunity to experience, grow, and share Día de los Muertos with more and more of Santa Cruz County. This growth is thanks to our community partner Senderos, a local organization that centers on supporting youth to excel in education and honor their cultural identity. Fe Silva Robles and Nereida Robles Vasquez from Senderos are the heart and spirit of this celebration at the MAH. Being Indigenous Zapotec women born and raised in Oaxaca, they have unique knowledge and wisdom that they have generously shared with us.

In 2019, after long and thoughtful talks, the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation granted us our first (partial) closure of Evergreen Street in front of the historical landmark Evergreen Cemetery. If you were there last year, you’d remember the procession, guided by Hermanas Unidas, of hundreds of community members walking from Cooper Street to Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park onto Evergreen Cemetery. With the permitted street closure, we were able to keep this procession of predominantly Indigenous and Latinx people safe from moving cars and comfortable knowing the people of the city were there for us.

As always there were altars, dancers, musicos, mojigangas, face painting, tissue paper flowers, catrinas y catrins, and much more. Everything was vibrant, colorful, and beautiful. Together we collectively mourned and celebrated life and death.

This year, things are different.

We continue to learn from our partners at Senderos and together we have found ways to bring the many offerings present at the annual Dia de los Muertos festival and the knowledge from our Senderos teachers to you in new reimaged ways.

First things first, we encourage you to be and stay safe. We are still living during a pandemic and needing to follow shelter-in-place orders. When outside, please stay at least 6-feet distance and wear a mask (my mask protects you and your mask protects me).

This year, we invite you to join us in a month-long series of virtual programs and self-guided outdoor experiences to learn more about the history and traditions of Día de los Muertos. Outdoor experiences will be closely monitored by MAH staff. We will maintain a limited capacity at each outdoor site so guests can comfortably browse the art safely and comfortably. Signage and markers will show designated paths and distance for a safe experience. Please do your part to keep these events safe by abiding by these guidelines and listening to MAH staffers. If you have any questions about the programing or precautions being taken please email us at info@santacruzmah.org.

Día de los Muertos dates back 3,000 years and 2020 will be another year this Indigenous celebration lives on. Below are opportunities for you to learn more and celebrate safely.

Join Ongoing Opportunities: Recordando Recuerdos

Recordando Recuerdos translates to remembering memories and will be a community-sourced piece honoring of life, death, and loss. We acknowledge 2020 has magnified and made the crisis experienced in our community significantly more visible. Through this, we have been continually reminded of the power of collective mourning and care.

Share your story on a collaborative artwork made of vibrant colors with names of loved ones, objects, and moments lost that you wish to honor and remember. Fill out the form and honor what you have lost here: Español | English

The piece will be assembled by MAH staff throughout the month of October. As we continue to collect submissions, get a sneak peek of Recordando Recuerdos at Evergreen Cemetery on Sunday, November 1st, 2020 12 - 3:30pm.

The final artwork will be a part of our upcoming exhibition, In These Uncertain Times on-view Winter/Spring 2021.

For more information please contact Helen Aldana at helen@santacruzmah.org or leave a voice message at 831.429.1964 ext. 7032 for a callback.