Lansing celebrates Dia de Los Muertos

FRIDAY, Oct. 29 — Lansing is having its 25th annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration on Saturday. The holiday is a centuries-old Mexican tradition continued by many Latino cultures, and its celebrants have a much more cheerful, rather than mournful, attitude toward the death of those close to them. 

During this year’s Dia de Los Muertos celebration, many Chicano and Latino Lansing families will display colorful homemade altars, called ofrendas, in honor of their deceased friends and loved ones, carrying on a tradition rooted in ancient Aztec culture. 

Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., there will be a large ofrendas exhibition, live music, dance performances and more hosted at One Love Global. Gabriel Estrada III, El Charro Del Norte, will perform rancheros and mariachi music and Fusion Latino, Lorenzo Lopez and Yesenia Murillo will perform a high-energy medley of popular Latino dance moves. Attendees are invited to dress up and decorate masks for Catrina and Catrin parades. The event is free to attend, and guests are required to wear masks.

Lansing’s yearly Dia de Los Muertos celebration began 25 years ago with Lansing School District outreach specialist Patricia Briones, who built an ofrenda for the Latino Club at Eastern High School. Lansing School District 21st century director Rosa Lopez Killips contributed an ofrenda. In recent years, it has been held at Casa de Rosado, a cultural community center and art gallery. 

“Over the years the three of us collaborated and made many other ofrendas for Día de Los Muertos — at Robert Busby’s Creole Gallery, South Lansing Library and in store windows in Old Town,” Casa de Rosado founder Theresa Rosado said. “More people wanted to join in, and Killips found larger spaces — Foster Community Center, Lansing Community College, City Market, as well at Casa de Rosado Galeria and Cultural Center.”