Reporte Hispano Festival de Día de los Muertos en New Brunswick

The New Brunswick Free Public Library, in collaboration with Lazos

América Unida and Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture, will host

a variety of free performances and children’s activities on Saturday,

November 1 from Noon to 4:00 p.m. for our ninth annual Day of the Dead/

Día de los Muertos program. El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a

vibrant and colorful tradition in Mexican culture that honors and

remembers loved ones who have passed away. People build altars adorned

with offerings, such as flowers, cut paper decorations, food, pictures

and candles in memory of their dead ones.

The celebration will commence at Noon with Construcción de Altares/

Altar Building. There will be traditional crafts including papel picado

(perforated paper), paper flower making by Mexican arts teacher Victor

Cortez, and a sugar skull workshop. At 1:00 p.m., the celebration will

continue with music and Aztec dances performed by the Calpulli

Huehuetlatolli dance troupe. The festivities will close with Mexican

appetizers and a tasting of Champurrado (a chocolate-based Mexican

drink). All events will be held in the library’s Carl T. Valenti

Community Room.

Day of the Dead Exhibit: The celebration includes a Day of the Dead

exhibit in the library’s Henry Guest House. The exhibit from October 30

to November 1 features a visual history of the Hispanic experience in

New Brunswick, Mexican poster art, including a community altar where the

public is invited to leave mementos and notes for loved ones. To

schedule school visits or exhibit viewing hours, please call Kavita

Pandey at 732-745-5108 x20 or e-mail kavita@lmxac.org.

Lazos América Unida, Inc. is a non-profit organization in Central New

Jersey. Its mission is to represent and advocate on behalf of the

Mexican immigrant community as well as strengthening the relationship

between the Hispanic and the broader community. This is conducted

through grassroots projects that seek to enhance and foster individual

and collective prosperity and involve the public, private, civic, and

research sectors at the local, state, national, and transnational

levels. For more information, please contact Lazos América Unida at

732-745-8666.

The Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture’s (CLAC) mission is to

research, document, interpret and promote Latino/a, Hispanic, Caribbean,

and Latin American arts and culture. The Center for Latino Arts and

Culture envisions a student-centered, learning community where students

can better integrate experiential, academic and service learning about

Latino arts and culture in order to become strong leaders and

responsible global citizens.

This program or service is funded in part by Middlesex County Board of

Chosen Freeholders, Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission,

with assistance thru a grant provided by New Jersey State Council on the

Arts/ Dept. of State.

All Day of the Dead events are free and open to the public. Lazos

América Unida has organized this program. For more information visit the

website www.nbfpl.org, contact Librarian Kavita Pandey at 732-745-5108

x20, or email her at kavita@lmxac.org.

—

Robert J. Belvin, Ph.D.

New Brunswick Free Public Library

60 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick NJ 08901

732.745.5271 bbelvin at lmxac.org