Día de los Muertos Exhibition at the Mexican Cultural Institute

A GUIDED TOUR AT THE MEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE

AAFSW cordially invites you on Monday, November 6 at  12:-00 pm., to a fascinating exhibition at the Mexican Cultural Institute’s annual Day of the Dead Altar, one of Mexico’s most famous events. This well-known community event features an intricate altar. 

The images tell a story of motivation beyond religious belief; they show a pilgrimage born from a tradition that has evolved over hundreds of years and is now an identifying aspect of Mexican Culture. 

During the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos, the family often takes the opportunity to visit the gravesite, clean any debris, and decorate the graves of loved ones. The centerpiece of the celebration is an altar or ofrenda, built in private homes and cemeteries.  The traditional elements of the altar are the candles, papel picado or pierced paper to decorate, catrinas (elegant skeletal ladies), alebrijes (fanciful animals), and orange marigold flowers (Cempasuchil) to guide wandering souls back to their place of rest. Some families place their dead loved one’s favorite meal on the altar like beans, tamales, mole, cactuses, rice, loaves of bread called pan de Muertos, sugar skulls, and fruit. 

The family visits, eats, prays, and tells favorite stories about those who have passed. The altar at home also depicts the pictures of departed relatives. Drinks should be placed on the altar to quench the thirst of the dead after their long journey back home. The point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members.

In this way, the living and the dead are reunited in a dimension that allows them to live together. Offerings are placed on a table with two levels that symbolize heaven and earth. In the case that it has three levels, purgatory is added. The largest are seven levels, they represent the steps to reach eternal rest. Living expressions of culture, and traditions, passed down from generation to generation.

Space is limited please RSVP by Thursday, November 2 below.                                                                 

We will meet at the Mexican Cultural Institute, located at 2829 16th Street NW · Washington, DC 20009  at 11:45 am. 

We look forward to seeing you.

Sheila Switzer AAFSW                                                                                                                                                                   Program Chair