DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS 2020

We’re Taking the Day of the Dead Celebration Online!  

Join us this year as we take our much-loved annual celebration of Day of the Dead online. Mindful not to endanger the community of which we are part, the Collective has moved the majority of the celebration—both ceremonial and artistic—online. 

The multi-day celebration will be live-streamed or shared virtually between October 29 and November 1, 2020. Community members can also enjoy the Collective visual arts exhibition, La Cosecha/Harvesting Bones, in person between October 29 and October 31.

The spirit of shared experience will continue to hold strong this year: the community will be invited to create its own Day of the Dead altars at home, to share with fellow community members via a Virtual Altar, re-creating online the sense of one enormous, animated altar so tangible in past years at Wychwood Barns.

As always, “community” here includes not only those of Mexican or Latinx heritage. While Day of the Dead is deeply rooted in Mexican culture and history, the Collective considers the celebrations to be of Toronto: anyone interested in understanding and honouring these traditions is part of the community.

Rarely in recent years has a time seemed more appropriate for the careful consideration of life’s fragility than the year 2020, marked by the global coronavirus pandemic, accelerated environmental destruction, and sustained racial and gender violence. In light of these harrowing circumstances—and the sense of isolation and despair they have brought to many—the Día de los Muertos Collective deems the gathering of community to celebrate life and honour the dead a universal and essential need. 

PROGRAM

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VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION
OCT 29–31

LA COSECHA/HARVESTING BONES *
Peter MacKendrick Community Gallery
76 Wychwood Ave, Toronto, ON M6G 4C6

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VIRTUAL LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
& TUTORIALS 
OCT 29

FEATURING:

  • Land Acknowledgment with Deanne and John Hupfield

  • Papel Picado with Red Pepper Spectacle Arts

  • Day of the Dead “Ofrenda” (altar)

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VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES
OCT 30

Take a look back with us through 12 years of theatre performances, music, and processions at Day of the Dead celebrations. **

FEATURING: 
Dia de Los Muertos Collective, Grupo Teatro Libre, Procession-Funeral Band, Danza de los Diablos, Danzas del Xantolo, Tlacuatzin, Café con Pan, Tincusay, Grupo Atuk, Rosy Cervantes y la Sana Rabia, and Cascabel.


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VIRTUAL CEREMONY
OCT 31

FEATURING: 
Smudging by Maya K'iche Elder Bártolo Alvárez, Sacred Fire Keeper John Moore, First Nations Drum Circle Eagleheart Singers, Women Drum Circle Kwewag Nagamowin , Aztec Dance Ceremony, Art Installations and Altars.

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VIRTUAL COMMUNITY LIVING ALTAR 
NOV 1

STARTS AT 2:45PM

CUICACALLI
In Aztec tradition, the Cuicacalli is the school of song and poetry. This space is a living altar for artists and community to make an offering through their artistic expression such as poetry, song, painting, performance, and more.

FEATURING:
Michaela Coyoli Basman M., Rosy Cervantes & Richard Fouchaux, Jessica Aguirre Carrasco, Santy “Lobo” Vega, Ballet Folklorico Puro Mexico, Jorge y Yuri Lopez, B’atz’ Recinos, Erez Sussman, Alejandra Higuera & Ana María Higuera, “Las Figo”, Mexa Leaf, Carlos Angulo, Kali Niño, Familia Monsivais, Alec Dempster, Norma Araiza & Olga Barrios, Camila Diaz-Varela and Karla Berganza.

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VIRTUAL THEATRE & DANCE PERFORMANCES
NOV 1

STARTS AT 4:15PM

TEATRO PARA VIVOS
FEATURING: 

  • Dentro de la Caja. Grupo Teatro Libre

  • Danzas del Xantolo (2019). Grupo Folklorico Tonatiuh **

  • Freedom of Speech (2019). Grupo Teatro Libre **

  • Cuando el Tecolote Danza (2019). Tocani **

  • Catarsis (2019). Grupo Teatro Libre **

  • Danza de los Diablos (2019). Ballet Folklorico Puro Mexico **

  • Sepia. Grupo Teatro Libre

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VIRTUAL CLOSING
NOV 1

STARTS AT 6:30PM

FEATURING: 

  • Tocani, pre-hispanic inspired contemporary music assemble

  • Mexa Leaf, Traditional Mexican Music 

  • Cecilia Guerrero & Mariachi Viva Mexico

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VIRTUAL ALTAR
OCT 29 to NOV 2

This year, instead of standing in front of the main altar at the Wychwood Barns together to commemorate our beloved departed, we will do so virtually: we invite the community to create your own Day of the Dead altars at home, to share with the rest of us via our Virtual Altar, re-creating online the sense of one enormous, animated altar so tangible in past years at the Barns. 

The Virtual Altar is a dedicated online space on our website that will feature photographs of personal ofrendas for the community, as well as brief descriptions of the loves ones honored. 

* Public health guidelines permitting, the Peter MacKendrick Community Gallery at Wychwood Barns will open its doors to (limited) in-person visitors between October 29 and October 31.
** Archive

Please note that public health recommendations may require last-minute changes to programming.

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“The Ghost Bike” is a white bicycle standing by the roadside, marking the place where a cyclist was killed by a motor vehicle. This memorial at Wychwood Avenue is a permanent altar created by the Día de los Muertos Collective to h
Enjoy highlights from “La Cosecha/Harvesting Bones” group exhibition at the Peter MacKendrick Community Gallery and feel the power of artworks in various media by artists @marianabolanosinclan, Mariana Cervera, Cesar Correa, @guaricha_pic
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We’re excited to share with you a live stream of our traditional Ceremony on this sunny Saturday in Toronto. Stay tuned—it will begin shortly on Facebook. See link in bio for details. #DayoftheDeadTO 📸 by Marta Orellana

Photo by Vincenzo Pietropaolo | Illustration by Ana Raquel Ramirez | Graphic Design by Alberto Cruz