Asheville, NC – Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a day which celebrates the cyclical human experience as a continuum from birth to death, and will be taking place on Wednesday, November 1, at Salvage Station. Traditionally, Dia de los Muertos is practiced by the community receiving the dead as honored guests; departed spirits are awakened from their eternal sleep and welcomed amongst their loved ones. It began in Mexico and is celebrated throughout many Latin American countries. Creative, colorful and festive symbolic decorations are elaborately placed throughout the night consisting of skulls, skeletons, marigolds, papel picado and other offerings collected to create altars to honor and celebrate the spirits of past and present. The evening’s festivities are presented by Hola Carolina Magazine. Dia de los Muertos takes place on Wednesday, November 1, at Salvage Station, located at 468 Riverside Drive, Asheville, NC 28801. Doors open at5 p.m. and the event ends at 2 a.m. Ticket Price: $10, kids under 18 are free and can be onsite until 9 p.m.; it is 21+ after 9 p.m.
“Come embrace Dia de los Muertos and experience a traditional celebration, honoring our departed loved ones. This event is one example of how beautiful and dynamic our culture is. Día de los Muertos celebrations teach history, culture and, most importantly, values that transcend generations,” says Adriana Chavela, founder of Hola Carolina Magazine.
Five local schools will compete in a School Altar Competition: Asheville High School, Evergreen Community Charter School, Franklin School of Innovation, Invest Collegiate Imagine, and Isaac Dickson Elementary. Event patrons can vote on their favorite school altar between 5-7 p.m. and the winners will be announced between 7:25-7:30 p.m. The prizes consist of monetary donations for the school art/spanish/after school programs.
A Community Altar will be made out of offerings brought by the public in attendance. Offerings include items that would be appealing and comforting to the returning souls such as flowers, candles (battery powered only as per NC fire codes), food, photos and personal mementos of the person being honored. Traditionally it is believed the dead would be insulted by mourning and sadness, festivities must be lively enough to wake both the living and the dead.
There will be a Community Art Tent featuring two dimensional Day of the Dead Skulls, colored pencils, and markers for patrons to engage in the festivities. Art vendors will be lined up throughout the field and include face painting, henna, paintings, jewelry, black light art, flow-toys, and much, much more!
Sacred Element will be gracing the stage with a couple of hand cut light boxes. Spice things up with a taste of designer Maurice Legendre‘s unique artistry. Fire performances begin after dark and will take place throughout the evening. Live painters will be onsite painting, stilt walkers will appear and galavant through the event. Visual projections will be performed by several of Asheville’s talented designers including Vanir Visuals and Murkury.
Danza Azteca Chichimeca Performing at this year’s event. Photo courtesy of event organizers
The musical and dance performances feature artists from all over the region. Tavo, from Greenville, SC, will be starting the music off with an all vinyl set consisting of music ranging from 1970’s New York Latin Soul to Peruvian Funk, from Brazilian Psychedelic to 1970’s Chicago Latin Salsa to LA Soul. Salsa Suave will be teaching a Salsa and a Bachata dance lesson, then DJ Blanco (Asheville) will be playing Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia, Merengue, and Cha Cha. Danza Azteca Chichimeca, features dancers from all over the region, and is a 35 minute Aztec dance performance. Edward Weber from Asheville, will play an International House set followed by Oneiric (Eric Controne), also from Asheville, doing a Latin Breaks set. Then we have two very talented DJs from Johnson City, TN, Menace (Hector Cigarroa) and King Shotta (Harry Whittington), doing a tropical infused Drum and Bass set and an International Dubstep set, respectively. The night will be closed down by one of the region’s most favorite Techno and Tech-House DJs, Klaws (Claudiu Nedelea) from Greenville, SC.
Please join us as we honor the deceased and celebrate their lives together, as a community for Dia de los Muertos on Wednesday, Nov. 1 from 5 p.m.-2 a.m. at Salvage Station located at 468 Riverside Drive, Asheville, NC 28801.
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About Max Hunt
Max Hunt grew up in South (New) Jersey and graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2011. History nerd; art geek; connoisseur of swimming holes, hot peppers, and plaid clothing. Follow me @J_MaxHunt
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The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.