The 19th annual Dia de los Muertos celebration will host more than 40 multicultural altars, Aztec dancers, face painting, and lots of homemade food this Friday.
Members of the university community may join the event procession, which begins at 5 p.m. at the César E. Chávez for Higher Education and concludes at the Bronco Commons. The altars made by campus multicultural centers, Chicano/Latino associations, and other members of the community, will be on display from 4 to 9 p.m. in the Bronco Commons.
“This event has a lot of rich cultural, historic, spiritual, educational components to it,” says Lorena Márquez, coordinator of the César E. Chávez Center. “We take great pride in making sure it holds up to the cultural tradition and the spirit this event is celebrated in, not only in Latin American countries, but also in the Philippines.”
Free face painting is available from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Chavez Center and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bronco Commons. The celebration also features open-mic spoken word performances, musical and cultural presentations, food sales, free Golden Spoon and art activities.
“Alumni will tell me ‘Lorena, I come back for the food.’” Marquez says. “It’s all homemade. It’s really good food.”
The event has been featured in the L.A. Times, and is expected to draw 800 to more than 1,000 people.
Follow the event and post your photos with the #CPPDiaDeLosMuertos hashtag.
The César E. Chávez Center and the Department of Ethnic & Women’s Studies are organizing the event. For more information, call the Chavez Center at (909) 869-5035.
(Photo: Youngsters with self-decorated masks at the Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Bronco Commons at Cal Poly Pomona last year.)