The Mexican Festival of the Dead is a colourful folk festival where, according to ancient Mexican beliefs, the living and the dead meet again to celebrate with each other – with music, dance and delicious food.
The ofrenda, a colourfully decorated altar with photos and gifts for the deceased, serves as a central place of remembrance and at the same time as an invitation to the dead to attend the festival. Family, friends, acquaintances and like-minded people meet there. It becomes a symbol of common remembrance. Next to the Ofrenda, skeletons made of papier-mâché, skulls made of sugar, the orange-coloured death flower Cempazuchil, sweet bread for the dead, colourful garlands and freshly painted gravestones announce the great event.
The festival at the Humboldt Forum focuses on the connection between death and life. It builds a bridge between this world and the hereafter, combines mourning and joy, individual remembrance and socially critical messages.
On the occasion of the exhibition un_endlich. Living with Death, the Mexican Festival of the Dead will be celebrated at the Humboldt Forum. Together with the association Calaca e.V., which is the artistic director of the festival, we invite the dead and the living to the Humboldt Forum.