Entertainment
1 November, 2024
Celebrate Mexico’s culture
VIBRANT colours, floral altars and festive music will light up the German Club Cairns tomorrow as the community gathers to celebrate a traditional Mexican ‘Dia de Muertos’ to honour death in a joyful celebration and get an unforgettable taste of Mexican culture.
For the first time Cairns residents will be able to celebrate an authentic Dia de Muertos with live music, folkloric dance, delicious Mexican food and a touch of history from 5pm to 10pm.
The most important date in the Mexican cultural calendar, Dia de Muertos or day of the dead, is a day to honour the loved ones that have died with a cheerful celebration full of music, altars, marigolds and beautifully decorated skulls.
“People believe that Dia de Muertos is only about the face painting but the history of it traces back over 2000 years ago. These cultures were celebrating life more than death and it was a reminder that death is bound to happen to all of us. But instead of being afraid they were excited to enter a new level of life,” said event organiser Jose Uriel Navarro.
“This is the first time we’ve had an event like this in Cairns and we’ll have a 30-minute talk about Dia de Muertos, the history, why we syncretise it, little aspects about how different cultures celebrate it, followed by a play performed by young kids.
“We will have folkloric Mexican dance by dance group Latin Roots, a live band playing Mexican songs and we’ll mix it up with Latino music. We will have contests for best dressed and best make-up and we’ll have authentic Mexican food and recipes.”
Mr Navarro said it was an exciting opportunity for Cairns’ residents to get immersed in authentic Mexican culture.
“Dia de Muertos is the biggest celebration in Mexico. Everyone is passionate about it. I think all of us Mexicans, we grow with it.
“My expectation for this event is hitting 250 to 270 people, that would be amazing. We have capacity for 300 but in my heart I’m hoping for more.
“There’s a fee of $15 because we don’t receive any financial support or grants. I even went to Mexico to buy a lot of things to bring for the event.”
To buy tickets ($15), visit https://bit.ly/3NL4Cs1
