HARTFORD – People gathered in Hartford to welcome and celebrate the dead on Saturday.
The event at the Connecticut Historical Society focused on the history and traditions of Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a jubilant Mexican tradition that welcomes departed family members, celebrates life, and pokes fun at death.
Activities included tours of traditional ofrendas, or small altars set up by local families, decorating sugar cookie skulls, composing satirical calaveras poetry, and making papel picado, cut-paper decorations. The Mariachi Academy and Mariachi México Antiguo provided live music. FOX61 Photojournalist Jose Gomez captured the sights, sounds, and stories.
The event was supported by the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s United Arts Campaign with major support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the University of Saint Joseph; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the CT Office of the Arts/DECD.
The Connecticut Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit educational organization that includes a museum, library, and the Edgar F. Waterman Research Center. Founded in 1825, the CHS is the state’s official historical society and one of the oldest in the nation.
