Cultural Reflection: Dia De Los Muertos

For my cultural contact credit I attended a Day of The Dead festival (Dia De Los Muertos). This event took place on october 5th, 2015 and was located at Steele Indian School Park. This was a free to the public. It was also the forth annual festival at this specific park, and I have to say for a newer festival it did not disappoint. There was a variety of activities scheduled for that day. There was candy skull decorating, live dancing and singing performances, and special appearances of La Llorana, Las Flacas and many more. The festival had a variety of booths. Some sold intricate skulls and masks. A few of them were for face painting. Many vendors bought handmade jewelry or artwork. And the rest of the tents sold delicious mexican food. I tried mexican popsicles, pan de los muertos, and corn with many toppings while I was there. What was so special about the the art vendors in particular was that only 20 were allowed at the festival. They had to submit examples of their artwork before being accepted to make sure they had the best quality products. One of the most visited tents
I find it important to be diverse and aware of the customs of other cultures, so it would be fun to teach and talk about this with the people I know. By doing this I will be allowing people to find the beauty in this holiday as well as learning some history. Next year I think I will invite friends to come to the festival with me. I will also tell people I know about the day in hopes they can gain knowledge. I enjoy making crafts (specifically the masks) and I could possibly get in touch with people at day of the dead festivals of even first friday in downtown phoenix and see if I can have a booth to sell masks and things I've made. I am a singer as well so I could try perform songs in spanish; or play something on piano or trumpet. Plus, art and music,in my opinion, are a great way to get everyone excited about