My name is Psyche Calderon Vargas (she/her/ella), Director of Latin@x Services at The Center, and I’m excited to invite you to our Dia de los Muertos event, Festival Mictlan: Celebration of the Underworld, on Saturday, November 1, from 11am-2pm at The Center.

Every fall, our community gathers to honor an ancient tradition that bridges worlds: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). In Mexica cosmology, Mictlán is the place where souls journey after death for transformation. Festival Mictlán embodies that journey as a celebration of memory, resilience, and joy.

The very existence, language, and culture of many LGBTQ+, Latin@x, and immigrant people are being targeted and criminalized in today’s political climate. We choose to be visible and outspoken in community. Events like these are a way to celebrate our families, our identities, and the stories that carried us across physical and imaginary borders. Every altar, every song, and every shared plate of food reminds us that to remember our history and who we are is to resist, and that resistance is most powerful when it makes space for our joy.

Join us for Festival Mictlán on Saturday, November 1, from 11am to 2pm, in The Center’s parking lot. Expect an afternoon filled with music, performances, games, delicious food, and vibrant community energy. Our event will include:

• A Catrin@x Contest with prizes—come dressed in your finest Día de los Muertos attire and skeleton makeup (walk-ins are welcome).
• A Community Altar Contest, with altars displayed throughout the festival as offerings of memory and love.
• Live presentations from local artists uplifting our ancestral heritage.
• A Beginner Salsa Class, inviting everyone to join in the dance.

RSVP for the event and to participate in our contest at bit.ly/festival-mictlan.

This celebration isn’t only for Latin@x folks but for todas las familias and todas las comunidades (all communities and all families) who believe that preserving celebrations that honor life and death together makes us stronger. At Latin@x Services at The Center, celebrating is healing, and our collective joy is one of the most powerful acts of resistance we have.

Arrive in your best Catrina outfit and makeup and build your altar to honor loved ones. There will be amazing prizes for creativity, tradition, and heart. Whether you’re participating or simply cheering on the artists, you’ll be part of a day where culture, remembrance, and joy meet.

So come with your stories, your songs, your laughter, and your love.
Let’s fill The Center with color, music, and remembrance—together.

Porque aunque la vida es breve y el tiempo se nos va,
seguimos cantando: ¡La comunidad no morirá!

En comunidad,

Psyche Calderon Vargas (she/her/ella)
Director of Latin@x Services