Second-Annual Group Õ Dia de los Muertos Parade in downtown Moline -- October 28.
Saturday, Occtober 28
Mercado on Fifth, 423 12th Street, Moline IL
A traditional Mexican holiday inviting families to honor the lives of their loved ones and show appreciation for cultural traditions, Dia de los Muertos will be celebrated in the second-annual parade hosted by Group Õ, with Mercado on Fifth also hosting pre- and after-parties in conjunction with the October 28 event in downtown Moline.
Dia de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico – particularly in the central and southern regions – and by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere in the world. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journeys. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle, and Mexicans view the day of one's passing not as a day of sadness, but as a day of celebration. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Dia de los Muertos is primarily celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday, and prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th Century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31, November 1, and November 2 to coincide with the traditions of All Saints' Eve (Halloween), All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas; honoring the deceased using calaveras, Aztec marigolds, and favorite foods and beverages of the departed; and visiting graves with these and other possessions as gifts.
Scholars have traced the origins of the modern Dia de los Muertos holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, which has become a national symbol whose meaning is frequently taught in Mexico's schools. Originally, however, Dia de los Muertos as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th Century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. Yet as of the early 21st Century, Dia de los Muertos is observed in northern Mexico because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s, and it is now collectively viewed as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.
The Group Ö Día de los Muertos Parade on October 28 will start at 2 p.m. in front of the Vibrant Arena at the MARK (1201 River Drive, Moline IL) and ending just off 19th Street and River Drive. Organizations and individuals are invited to enter the Día de los Muertos Parade Float Competition, in which prizes will be awarded for First Place ($750), Second Place ($500), and Third Place ($250). This year's parade will be preceded at noon with a pre-party held at Mercado on Fifth, the same location as the after-party boasting headliner Banda Caliente beginning at 6 p.m.
For more information on the day's events, visit MercadoOnFifth.org.
