On October 26 and 27, the Día de Muertos Festival filled the Seattle Center Armory, bringing a diverse crowd to celebrate the Indigenous tradition of honoring those who have passed.
Día de Muertos, traditionally celebrated on November 1-2, is a time for families to gather with loved ones to celebrate and connect with the deceased. While the holiday is widely observed in Mexico, historians trace the traditions back to Mesoamerican cultures.
Edgardo Garcia, one of the festival committee’s longest-serving members, said he remembers celebrating Dia de Muertos when he lived outside of Mexico City.
It was the only time of the year he got to see his extended family on his mother’s side, Garcia said
“The goal of the festival is to introduce the celebration to our Mexican community and share our traditions with the rest of the community at large,” Garcia said. “It is a way to get to know the holiday beyond the stereotypes and to rid the misconceptions from the celebration. It is not something dark, but a way to stay close to family, culture, and home and to make a community.”
The festival consists of two full days of speeches, dances, music, and various performances.
The event was organized by a five-person committee, which included volunteers from local Latino groups, including the UW Department of Spanish, the Mexican Consulate in Seattle, and others.
This festival has deep roots in the Seattle community. It was first launched in 1998 in the South Park neighborhood at Concord Elementary School, though it relocated to West Seattle for two years.
After outgrowing its previous venues, the festival moved again in 2003, but this time to the Seattle Center.
Today, the festival attracts as many as 8,000 visitors.
Attendees can participate in several traditional crafts including making paper flowers, skull masks, sugar skulls, linocut prints, as well as face painting.
Local small businesses sell traditional items and foods, including pan de muerto, tamales, and mole.
Art filled the Armory, including a large Tapete created by committee member and artist Fulgencio Lazo.
A woman admires a large altar decorated with cempasúchil flowers, trinkets, skulls and food.
Photo: Paige Stanley
The Tapete created by artist Fulgencio Lazo.
Photo: Paige Stanley
The center of the festival is the altars. Traditionally, families honor their ancestors who have passed by creating altars offering photos, candles, their favorite foods, cempasúchil flowers, pan de Muertos, and more.
Garcia explained that the celebration serves as a time to reflect.
“It helps people process mourning and find a way to leave the death experience and heal,” he said.
Jamie Guevara, owner of Un Pedacito de mi Tierra, an artisanal jewelry business, participated in the event as a vendor.
His shop sells colorful keepsakes and trinkets such as jewelry and painted skulls—many of which can be found as offerings on altars.
“If you don’t remember your family when they die by celebrating them, they will be forgotten,” Guevara said.
Trinkets on display in ‘Un Pedacito de mi Tierra’ shop.
Photo: Paige Stanley
The theme of the festival this year was ‘Ancestral Echoes.’
“We are trying to share with the community that our ancestors had knowledge that was passed on from generations, and we are the generation that will pass it on,” committee member and Artistic Director Barbara Rodriguez explained.” It is important to talk with our elders and even among our peers to be the bridge between where we are now and the next generation.”
As part of the broader Seattle Center Festál series, the Día de Muertos Festival collaborates monthly with other festival committees to exchange outreach strategies and successes.
Introduced in 1997, Festál is a series of 24 free festivals presented throughout the year that celebrate diverse cultures and identities through food, music, dance, art, film, and more. These festivals are supported by the City of Seattle, Seattle Center Foundation, 4Culture, and the ArtsFund.
The Día de Muertos festival applied and received funding through the ArtsFund’s community accelerator grant program, aimed at enhancing arts and cultural experiences for Washington residents.
The ArtsFund trusts organizations to use their funding how they see fit.
“It’s really important to give those unrestricted funds to cultural organizations across Washington because we know that there are positive benefits of those groups in their communities,” Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Communications Katy Corella, said. “And we also know that there’s a lot of … impacts having these groups uplift their cultural practices to be so open about art and inviting to the community.”
Aside from the Día de Muertos Festival, ArtsFund made grants to 811 organizations across Washington State.
The Día de Muertos Festival’s involvement in these larger organizations widens their contribution to the overall community.
Committee member, Matt Hooks, whose wife and daughter have performed with local Mexican dance troops, said: “The cultural celebrations are important to help regain the richness of community. Each cultural group has something to offer and the more we connect the richer we are.”
Paige Stanley is a senior at the University of Washington majoring in journalism and public interest communications and minoring in data science. As a Seattle native, Paige is passionate about telling stories representing diverse cultures and voices in her hometown.