Tlaquepaque's 8th Annual Day of the Dead Extravaganza!

Get ready for Sedona’s spectacular version of Mexico’s most time-honored celebration, Dia de los Muertos , or Day of the Dead, at the Mexican-inspired Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village. If you loved the movie COCO and have never been to a Day of the Dead celebration, be sure to set aside Saturday, November 3rd, 2018 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm, and prepare for fantastic family fun!

Admission is free, and there is also a free shuttle service running from 3 to 8 pm from two locations: the Uptown municipal parking at 260 Schnebly Road and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located at 160 Mormon Hill Rd, in Sedona. Please consider using both services for your convenience.

Now in its eighth year, the day-long extravaganza is jam packed with over-the-top entertainment. Enjoy high-energy world, gypsy and Latin music and jaw-dropping fire dance performances, aerial artists wrapped in silks, ghoulish stilt walkers, jugglers, Muertos-themed face painting, sugar skull making, and more… all taking place at the South and North Tlaquepaque venues. On the main Calle, check out the Mercado with Day of the Dead sweet breads, taquitos, tamales, and more. Costumes are definitely encouraged and get more impressive every year!

As in years past, beautiful altars to honor loved ones who have passed with offrenda, or special personal offerings, is all part of an authentic Dia de los Muertos . Traditionally, families gather creating special shrines in the home, preparing offrenda and baking pan de muerto , a special Day-of-the-Dead bread, sugar skulls, candles, cempasuchil flowers, papier maché skeletons, and plates with the favorite foods of relatives who have passed. It’s all part of weeks-long preparation for Dia de los Muerto s. On that day it is believed that the spirits of the dead consume the essence and the aroma of the foods that are offered. When the spirits depart, the family, friends and neighbors who remain share the food together in celebration. Symbolic offerings of real things and past times that the loved one enjoyed in life are placed on the handmade altar as well.

Tlaquepaque is dramatically transformed with thousands of candles, papier mache katrinas, spectacularly decorated fountains, and beautiful altars ready to receive your personal offrenda honoring those who have passed. “Every year Day of the Dead gets more popular and now it’s our biggest event. Leading up to Saturday folks have been writing tributes in words and symbols on the large mobile mural as part of the Marigold Mural Project. On Saturday you can still add the names of your family members, friends or pets that have passed. It is a moving tribute and a powerful way to remember those precious to us,” says Wendy Lippman, general manager and resident partner of Tlaquepaque. “And of course all the shops and galleries are open for your pleasure.” Additionally, murals from years past will be in the main Calles of Tlaquepaque North and South.

Artistic expressions of devotion and honoring loved ones can be seen in the arresting Amorosa Memoria altar at Tlaquepaque North, beautifully arranged by Mountain High Flowers. Tlaquepaque’s Eisenart Innovations named the altar Recordando a Nuestros Hijos or Remembering Our Children. Showstoppers, Tlaquepaque’s onsite artistic event masters, who decorate all the fountains year round, created the stunning Santuario de los Santos altar inside the Chapel. Be sure to check it out!

Music & Performances

Darius Lux Duo, 3-5pm, Patio de las Campanas. Rock on with Darius' soulful vocal talents that also include pop/rock/reggae originals and covers.

Violinist Teresa Joy, 3-5pm, Patio del Norte. Daughter and co-performer of virtuoso flamenco guitarist, Esteban, Teresa’s high energy, screaming numbers are a joy to witness!

David Merino Duo, 4-8 pm, Tlaquepaque North. With his unique gypsy-style world music sound and mix of Mediterranean influences, David brings it!

Eric Miller, 5-8 pm, in the Chapel. This Sedona-favorite virtuoso flamenco guitarist will take you to fantastic places with his versatile traditional and original musical numbers, performed in front of the stunning “Santuario de los Santos" Chapel altar.

Gaetano Frankel Duo and Flamenco Dance performance, 5-7 pm, Patio de las Campanas. Another Tlaquepaque favorite brings to life the musical culture of Spain and Mexico in heart-pounding flamenco numbers.

Las Chollas Peligrosas, 5-8 pm, Patio del Norte. This all female fusion band lets it rip. Enjoy their fiery brand of traditional Mexican and Latin music.

Belly Dance Fire Dance performance, 6-6:30pm, Tlaquepaque North. Hugely popular last year, a not-to-be-missed performance!

Circus Farm Fire Show, 7 pm, Calle Independencia. This powerfully dramatic swirl of fire and dancers in choreographed precision, is an enormous crowd pleaser and a perfect way to end the evening. Gather round early as the performance area fills up fast.

Activities

Marigold Mural Project with the artist Lovejoy, 11 am – 8 pm. Add your tributes in paint for loved ones passed.

Free Sugar Skull making, 3-5pm, Patio de las Campanas.

Face painting, 3-8 pm, Calle Independencia and Tlaquepaque North. Free face painting and caricature drawings like you have never seen.

The Mercado, 3-8pm, Calle Independencia. Be sure to stroll the Mercado on the main Calle for special Dia de las Muertos treats, including fabulous Los Muertos salsa and elote churros, burritos, agua frescas , Day-of-the-Dead sweet bread, and hot chocolate. Enjoy delicious taquitos from El Rincon Restaurante in Tlaquepaque, and from Sedona’s Tamaliza's, mouth-watering tamales and Mexican sodas. And don’t miss the Big Brothers and Big Sisters booth where you can create and make masks and paper flowers.

Home to more than 45 boutique shops and world-class galleries, and five restaurants, Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, now in its 46th year, is located at 336 State Route 179 in Sedona, Arizona. It is open daily at 10:00 am. For more information call (928) 282-4838, visit: www.tlaq.com.