Carnaval de Muertos

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT HAS TWO LOCATIONS AND TIMES.

Every November 1 and 2, URBAN-15’s Carnaval de San Anto transforms into Carnaval de los Muertos for a very special performance in honor of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. This annual performance ritual combines traditional Mexican culture and URBAN-15’s Brazilian and Portuguese dance and rhythms, resulting in a presentation that pays tribute to and celebrates our passed loved ones.

Carnaval de los Muertos has been an annual URBAN-15 tradition since the early 1990s, when the ensemble would make visits to the Alamo Camposanto, San Fernando Cathedral, Main Plaza and San Fernando Cemeteries. In recent years, URBAN-15 has performed in Hemisfair’s Plaza México, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the Instituto Cultural de México, and appeared for presentations at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Market Square, and Centro Cultural Aztlan.

With special costumes, choreography, and rhythms all designed and created by the URBAN-15 members themselves, Carnaval de los Muertos is an organic altar that celebrates the many families and generations that have lived here in San Antonio. By honoring the past, we learn how to proceed into the future.

This year, the Carnaval de Muertos makes two appearances on Thursday, November 2nd, the first at 6:30pm outside the Instituto Cultural de Mexico in Hemisfair Park, and the second at 8pm at Centro Cultural Aztlan. 6:30pm performance is free and 8pm performance has a $3 suggested donation (children and students free) to Centro Cultural Aztlan’s larger “Altares y Ofrendas” event.