DIA DE LOS MUERTOS UNIDOS BENEFIT FESTIVAL: WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER

Día de los Muertos DC is proud to present the Día de los Muertos “UNITED WE ARE STRONGER” Benefit Festival on the Washington Grounds in Washington, DC, to be held on Saturday, November 2, 2022 from 4:00 PM - 4:00 AM.

(Location: Washington Monument Grounds, 15th Steet & Constitution Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20024)

THE FESTIVAL

With everything going on in the world recently, we will be paying tribute to the Día de los Muertos holiday where family and friends come together in fellowship to remember and celebrate the lives of their passed loved ones. “Día de los Muertos” is a holiday that represents a custom that we all can relate to. Our mission is to share the true meaning and tradition of the holiday with all cultures since, no matter our differences or ethnic backgrounds, each and every one of us have loved ones to remember and honor. In death, we are all the same, and we wish to continue sharing this custom through our presence in the DC Metropolitan Area.

By participating, this event will take you on a journey from the traditional roots of this holiday, teach you the significance of the various customs and traditions, expound upon the importance of unpacking grief through the empowerment and support of family and community, and show you the ways this holiday can be celebrated cross-culturally. It will also highlight various ways that you can get involved in giving back to your community, spread awareness of local community resources, encourage you to get out and VOTE, and share the understanding that if we are all the same in death, then there is more that unites us than divides us in life.

The event at the National Mall will take participants on a journey from the traditional roots of this meaningful holiday, teaching the significance of the various customs and traditions, expound upon the importance of unpacking grief through the empowerment and support of family and community, show the ways this holiday can be celebrated cross-culturally, highlight various ways that the community members can get involved in giving back, spread awareness of local community resources, encouraging people to get out the vote, and remember the shared understanding that, “...if we are all the same in death, then there is more that unites us in life.”

During the festival, participants will have the opportunity to experience a variety of family-friendly activations which will include an expansive history of Día de Los Muertos, the sounds of mariachi and other local vocal artists, dance performances, live art, workshops, community resources, a candlelit vigil, customary activities, panel discussions, and more.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

• 8,000+ Estimated Attendees

• History of Día de los Muertos

• Land Acknowledgement

• Mariachi

• Luchador Mathes

• Local Vocal Artists

• Traditional Dance Performances

• Live Visual Art

• Mechanical Bull

• "Calavera" Face-Painting

• Altar-Making Workshop

• Community Drum Circle

• Mental & Physical Health Workshops

• Candlelight Vigil

• Movie Screening

• Healing Musical Performance

• Traditional Customary Activities

• Locally Renown DJ’s

• Community Discussions

• Cross-Cultural Altar

• Local Vendors

• & Much More

OUR ALTAR

All are welcome to visit and contribute to the large, cross-cultural altar and place ofrendas (offerings) and photos of loved ones who have passed on. The altar is also meant to hold space and pay respect to the strongest issues that contribute to the senseless loss of life while exploring what it means to act together to improve collective mental health through the promotion of healing, building community, and the capacity to process grief. Altar guardians will be present to assist and watch over the altar to preserve the integrity of the space throughout the event.

As the journey of life and death unites everyone, one of the art installations will be the "All Souls Memory Flags" where all are invited, whether in attendance or not, to share an image of a loved one or something representative of loved ones who have passed on to honor their memory, from any cultural background or ideitynt. These memories will be treated with deep respect and care to be displayed with the altar.

Community members are able to request that a memory flag be created to honor a loved one of their choice online via the following link:

https://tinyurl.com/allsoulsmemoryflags

The flags are free of charge and are a gift to the community in an effort to promote healing and remembrance. Please note: The artists will create as many memory flags as possible in advance of the event. If the artists are unable to meet any requests due to bandwidth for this year’s altar, they will ensure that the memory flags will be created after the event and are included to be displayed on the altar the following year.

Event Website:

DDLMBENEFIT.COM

WHO ARE WE

We are Dia de los Muertos DC (DDLMDC), an organization founded to develop and produce community-building events around the traditions and customs of the Dia de los Muertos (A.K.A Day of the Dead) holiday. Our mission is to fundraise and support various social causes affecting the (black and brown or Hispanic and Latin) community, through teaching unity and oneness as we all experience death. By remembering and paying tribute to the ones that we all have loved and lost, educating the masses on the true traditional history of the holiday while showcasing the importance of these customs, we explore how Dia de los Muertos can be celebrated and embraced across cultures. We act together to improve the collective mental health of the country through the promotion of healing, build community and the capacity to process grief, while supporting our fellow human beings through the difficult mourning process by sharing local resources that are available to help the local community.

PETITION TO MAKE DDLM A NATIONAL HOLIDAY

In a nation built on the ideals of equality and shared freedom, Día de los Muertos offers an opportunity to emphasize unity in our shared fate. It serves as a reminder that no matter who we are, where we come from, or how we live, we all face the same human experience.

By officially recognizing this holiday, the U.S. would:

- Honor the legacy of diverse communities, especially those of Hispanic and Latin American descent, whose traditions enrich our nation.

- Create a space for all Americans to reflect on the fragility of life, the importance of remembrance, and the need for compassion and equality.

- Promote healing and unity, helping us look beyond our differences and focus on our shared existence.

Our goal this November is to unite our community across the country, by including organizers, festival producers, activists, artists, local government officials, museum curators, historians, and communities in order to petition Congress to officially denounce this divisive proclamation and establish Dia de Los Muertos as a recognized holiday within the US.

In order to make Dia de los Muertos an officially recognized national holiday, we are asking that you sign our posted petition in order to showcase the reality that this holiday is already widely recognized and celebrated across the country and has a direct positive effect on the unity and mental health of all of the country’s inhabitants.

LINK TO PETITION

GET INVOLVED / JOIN THE TEAM / BECOME A VENDOR OR SPONSOR / MORE INFORMATION:

Contact us via telephone at (202)744-5497 or via email at [email protected]. (Pitch Deck available upon request)

Event Website:

DDLMBENEFIT.COM

Host or Publisher Dia de los Muertos DC (DDLMDC)