Honoring Our Ancestors: Making a Promise for the Future
In 2024 we are holding the thirtieth annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Oakland Museum of California. In 1994, a small group of visionary artists and community members in Oakland approached OMCA to organize the first community-based Día de los Muertos celebration. The first celebration linked a living tradition that uplifts a deep indigenous way of recognizing those who came before us to connect and reconnect our communities with our ancestors and ancestral ways of being.
Since the first celebration, OMCA's Día de los Muertos has grown and revitalized our relationships, bringing together communities from Oakland and across the Bay Area. Our celebration brings together Danza, diverse artists and traditional ofrenda-makers, pan de muerto and tlaxcalli (tortilla) makers and music from diverse regions in Mexico and Latin America. Our annual celebration brings the best of our traditional offerings to honor our dearly departed loved ones and ancestors. The first celebration planted the seed. The 30th annual Día de los Muertos celebration has established deep roots in long-held traditions that connect communities, their harvests, their flowers & song, to honor those who cared for and protected our communities and their seeds, people and earth.
To celebrate and honor our ancestors in 2024, the Día de los Muertos Committee is holding fast to our traditions, making a promise to always bring our best selves to the new day as we honor our past.
Join in a procession to open the celebration led by Día de los Muertos Committee members. Hands-on activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia bring the community together for this healing tradition. View community-created ofrendas throughout the OMCA gardens paying homage to loved ones and support local artisans by purchasing Día de los Muertos goods for your home altar at our mercado. See celebration details below, and feel free to bring your own picnic!
Opening Ceremony
Garden, Lower Level
11:00 am Procession to the Garden led by the Día de los Muertos Committee for the dedication of the central ofrenda
11:30 am-11:55 am Opening Ceremony with Danza Azteca Cuauhtonal*
11:55 am-12:00 pm Formal Welcome featuring Mistress and Mister of Ceremony Juanita Chavez-Gordon and Arnoldo García*
*In addition to ASL interpretation, these portions of the program include Spanish and Nahuatl interpretation.
- Performances -
Garden Stage*, Lower Level
12:00-12:30 pm Performance by Monica Maria
1:00-1:30 pm Performance by Mariachi Bonitas
2:00-2:45 pm Performance by Mexico Danza
3:00-3:45 pm Performance by Banda 300
3:45-4 pm Closing Palabras and Four Directions
* If raining, performances will move to the James Moore Theater, Lower Level
Amphitheater **, Lower Level
12:45-1:15 pm Poetry Readings by Aideed Medina, Sara Borjas, Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
1:30-2:30 pm Salsa and Bachata Lesson with In Lak'ech Dance Academy
3:10-3:40 pm Performance by Diana Gameros
** If raining, performances will move to the Lecture Hall, Lower Level
Traditional Cleansing
Patio 3, Upper Level
12:30-3:30 pm Receive a limpia, which is a traditional ritual to heal heavy emotions, like loss, and rebalance one's health and relationships.
Image Credit: Photo by Christine Cueto, Dancers in the OMCA Garden, 2022
show less
In 2024 we are holding the thirtieth annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Oakland Museum of California. In 1994, a small group of visionary artists and community members in Oakland approached OMCA to organize the first community-based Día de los Muertos celebration. The first celebration linked a living tradition that uplifts a deep indigenous way of recognizing those who came before us to connect and reconnect our communities with our ancestors and ancestral ways of being.
Since the first celebration, OMCA's Día de los Muertos has grown and revitalized our relationships, bringing together communities from Oakland and across the Bay Area. Our celebration brings together Danza, diverse artists and traditional ofrenda-makers, pan de muerto and tlaxcalli (tortilla) makers and music from diverse regions in Mexico and Latin America. Our annual celebration brings the best of our traditional offerings to honor our dearly departed loved ones and ancestors. The first celebration planted the seed. The 30th annual Día de los Muertos celebration has established deep roots in long-held traditions that connect communities, their harvests, their flowers & song, to honor those who cared for and protected our communities and their seeds, people and earth.
To celebrate and honor our ancestors in 2024, the Día de los Muertos Committee is holding fast to our traditions, making a promise to always bring our best selves to the new day as we honor our past.
Join in a procession to open the celebration led by Día de los Muertos Committee members. Hands-on activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia bring the community together for this healing tradition. View community-created ofrendas throughout the OMCA gardens paying homage to loved ones and support local artisans by purchasing Día de los Muertos goods for your home altar at our mercado. See celebration details below, and feel free to bring your own picnic!
Opening Ceremony
Garden, Lower Level
11:00 am Procession to the Garden led by the Día de los Muertos Committee for the dedication of the central ofrenda
11:30 am-11:55 am Opening Ceremony with Danza Azteca Cuauhtonal*
11:55 am-12:00 pm Formal Welcome featuring Mistress and Mister of Ceremony Juanita Chavez-Gordon and Arnoldo García*
*In addition to ASL interpretation, these portions of the program include Spanish and Nahuatl interpretation.
- Performances -
Garden Stage*, Lower Level
12:00-12:30 pm Performance by Monica Maria
1:00-1:30 pm Performance by Mariachi Bonitas
2:00-2:45 pm Performance by Mexico Danza
3:00-3:45 pm Performance by Banda 300
3:45-4 pm Closing Palabras and Four Directions
* If raining, performances will move to the James Moore Theater, Lower Level
Amphitheater **, Lower Level
12:45-1:15 pm Poetry Readings by Aideed Medina, Sara Borjas, Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
1:30-2:30 pm Salsa and Bachata Lesson with In Lak'ech Dance Academy
3:10-3:40 pm Performance by Diana Gameros
** If raining, performances will move to the Lecture Hall, Lower Level
Traditional Cleansing
Patio 3, Upper Level
12:30-3:30 pm Receive a limpia, which is a traditional ritual to heal heavy emotions, like loss, and rebalance one's health and relationships.
Image Credit: Photo by Christine Cueto, Dancers in the OMCA Garden, 2022
Honoring Our Ancestors: Making a Promise for the Future
In 2024 we are holding the thirtieth annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Oakland Museum of California. In 1994, a small group of visionary artists and community members in Oakland approached OMCA to organize the first community-based Día de los Muertos celebration. The first celebration linked a living tradition that uplifts a deep indigenous way of recognizing those who came before us to connect and reconnect our communities with our ancestors and ancestral ways of being.
Since the first celebration, OMCA's Día de los Muertos has grown and revitalized our relationships, bringing together communities from Oakland and across the Bay Area. Our celebration brings together Danza, diverse artists and traditional ofrenda-makers, pan de muerto and tlaxcalli (tortilla) makers and music from diverse regions in Mexico and Latin America. Our annual celebration brings the best of our traditional offerings to honor our dearly departed loved ones and ancestors. The first celebration planted the seed. The 30th annual Día de los Muertos celebration has established deep roots in long-held traditions that connect communities, their harvests, their flowers & song, to honor those who cared for and protected our communities and their seeds, people and earth.
To celebrate and honor our ancestors in 2024, the Día de los Muertos Committee is holding fast to our traditions, making a promise to always bring our best selves to the new day as we honor our past.
Join in a procession to open the celebration led by Día de los Muertos Committee members. Hands-on activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia bring the community together for this healing tradition. View community-created ofrendas throughout the OMCA gardens paying homage to loved ones and support local artisans by purchasing Día de los Muertos goods for your home altar at our mercado. See celebration details below, and feel free to bring your own picnic!
Opening Ceremony
Garden, Lower Level
11:00 am Procession to the Garden led by the Día de los Muertos Committee for the dedication of the central ofrenda
11:30 am-11:55 am Opening Ceremony with Danza Azteca Cuauhtonal*
11:55 am-12:00 pm Formal Welcome featuring Mistress and Mister of Ceremony Juanita Chavez-Gordon and Arnoldo García*
*In addition to ASL interpretation, these portions of the program include Spanish and Nahuatl interpretation.
- Performances -
Garden Stage*, Lower Level
12:00-12:30 pm Performance by Monica Maria
1:00-1:30 pm Performance by Mariachi Bonitas
2:00-2:45 pm Performance by Mexico Danza
3:00-3:45 pm Performance by Banda 300
3:45-4 pm Closing Palabras and Four Directions
* If raining, performances will move to the James Moore Theater, Lower Level
Amphitheater **, Lower Level
12:45-1:15 pm Poetry Readings by Aideed Medina, Sara Borjas, Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
1:30-2:30 pm Salsa and Bachata Lesson with In Lak'ech Dance Academy
3:10-3:40 pm Performance by Diana Gameros
** If raining, performances will move to the Lecture Hall, Lower Level
Traditional Cleansing
Patio 3, Upper Level
12:30-3:30 pm Receive a limpia, which is a traditional ritual to heal heavy emotions, like loss, and rebalance one's health and relationships.
Image Credit: Photo by Christine Cueto, Dancers in the OMCA Garden, 2022
read more
In 2024 we are holding the thirtieth annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Oakland Museum of California. In 1994, a small group of visionary artists and community members in Oakland approached OMCA to organize the first community-based Día de los Muertos celebration. The first celebration linked a living tradition that uplifts a deep indigenous way of recognizing those who came before us to connect and reconnect our communities with our ancestors and ancestral ways of being.
Since the first celebration, OMCA's Día de los Muertos has grown and revitalized our relationships, bringing together communities from Oakland and across the Bay Area. Our celebration brings together Danza, diverse artists and traditional ofrenda-makers, pan de muerto and tlaxcalli (tortilla) makers and music from diverse regions in Mexico and Latin America. Our annual celebration brings the best of our traditional offerings to honor our dearly departed loved ones and ancestors. The first celebration planted the seed. The 30th annual Día de los Muertos celebration has established deep roots in long-held traditions that connect communities, their harvests, their flowers & song, to honor those who cared for and protected our communities and their seeds, people and earth.
To celebrate and honor our ancestors in 2024, the Día de los Muertos Committee is holding fast to our traditions, making a promise to always bring our best selves to the new day as we honor our past.
Join in a procession to open the celebration led by Día de los Muertos Committee members. Hands-on activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia bring the community together for this healing tradition. View community-created ofrendas throughout the OMCA gardens paying homage to loved ones and support local artisans by purchasing Día de los Muertos goods for your home altar at our mercado. See celebration details below, and feel free to bring your own picnic!
Opening Ceremony
Garden, Lower Level
11:00 am Procession to the Garden led by the Día de los Muertos Committee for the dedication of the central ofrenda
11:30 am-11:55 am Opening Ceremony with Danza Azteca Cuauhtonal*
11:55 am-12:00 pm Formal Welcome featuring Mistress and Mister of Ceremony Juanita Chavez-Gordon and Arnoldo García*
*In addition to ASL interpretation, these portions of the program include Spanish and Nahuatl interpretation.
- Performances -
Garden Stage*, Lower Level
12:00-12:30 pm Performance by Monica Maria
1:00-1:30 pm Performance by Mariachi Bonitas
2:00-2:45 pm Performance by Mexico Danza
3:00-3:45 pm Performance by Banda 300
3:45-4 pm Closing Palabras and Four Directions
* If raining, performances will move to the James Moore Theater, Lower Level
Amphitheater **, Lower Level
12:45-1:15 pm Poetry Readings by Aideed Medina, Sara Borjas, Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
1:30-2:30 pm Salsa and Bachata Lesson with In Lak'ech Dance Academy
3:10-3:40 pm Performance by Diana Gameros
** If raining, performances will move to the Lecture Hall, Lower Level
Traditional Cleansing
Patio 3, Upper Level
12:30-3:30 pm Receive a limpia, which is a traditional ritual to heal heavy emotions, like loss, and rebalance one's health and relationships.
Image Credit: Photo by Christine Cueto, Dancers in the OMCA Garden, 2022
show less
Date/Times:
Oakland Museum of California
1 Upcoming Events
1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.