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Penn Museum's Day of the Dead celebration honors victims of earthquake, fires, and hurricanes

The centuries-old tradition celebrates lost loved ones with bright colors, music, dance, sweets, and storytelling.

    By
  • Emily Cohen
    • October 30, 2017
  • Young girls in red white and green costumes with faces painted like skulls prepare to dance at a Day of the Dead Celebration

    Samantha Garcia, 10, embraces her heritage at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration

    Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • a day of the dead altar is decorated with skeletons, photos, candles and brightly colored paper flowers

    This year's main altar honors the victims of the recent natural disasters that have affected Mexico and the surrounding countries. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • a day of the dead altar is decorated with skeletons, photos, candles and brightly colored paper flowers

    This year's main altar honors the victims of the recent natura day of the dead altar is decorated with skeletons, photos, candles and brightly colored paper flowersal disasters that have affected Mexico and the surrounding countries. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Costumed children in skull face paint decorate sugar skulls

    Kids decorate their own edible sugar skulls at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A. Peter Ojeda stands with his grandchildren all in traditional sugar skull face paint in celebration of Dia de los Muertos at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead

    A. Peter Ojeda stands with his grandchildren all in traditional sugar skull face paint in celebration of Dia de los Muertos at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • children in skull face paint look at a mummy in a glass case

    Day of the Dead participants check out the mummies in Penn Museum's galleries. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Children and adults gather to watch a marionette puppet show explaining the celebrations around Dia de los Muertos at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

    Children and adults gather to watch a marionette puppet show explaining the celebrations around Dia de los Muertos at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration

    Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration

    Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration

    Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration

    Dancers from Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi perform traditional Mexican folk dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Revelers watch the Ollin Papalota Group as they perform traditional Aztec dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration

    Revelers watch the Ollin Papalota Group as they perform traditional Aztec dances at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A large skeleton puppet dances with traditional Mexican dancers at a day of the dead celebration

    Revelers enjoy a day of celebration and commemoration at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • a child applies blue icing to a sugar skull

    Kids decorate their own edible sugar skulls at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A man paints half of a boy's face to look like a skull

    David Tornambe, 9, gets his face painted as a traditional sugar skull at the Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A woman man paints half of a man's face to look like a skull

    Joe Tornambe gets his face painted as a traditional sugar skull at the Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Children sort through lucha libre masks, used by Mexican professional wrestlers, for sale at a day of the dead celebration

    The Tornambe family checks out the lucha libre (professional wrestling) masks and other Mexican artisanal crafts for sale at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A variety of skull and skeleton earings are displayed for sale

    Mexican artisanal crafts are offered for sale at Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • Simon Martin, Penn Museum curator, gives a tour of the museum's collection of monoliths and other artifacts in the Mexico and Central America gallery

    Simon Martin, Penn Museum curator, gives a tour of the museum's collection of monoliths and other artifacts in the Mexico and Central America gallery. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A mother and child look at artifacts in a glass case at Penn Museum. The child's face is painted like a skull.

    Corinne Greskiewicz and her daughter Cali, 9, explore artifacts in the Mexico and Central America rooms at the Penn Museum. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

  • A mother and daughter inspect a Day of the Dead altar at Penn Museum

    Amy Romaine and her daughter Eleanor, 7, check out the community altars at the Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration October 28, 2017. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

Revelers celebrated the Day of the Dead at the Penn Museum on Saturday surrounded by relics from ancient civilizations.

For the sixth year, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology teamed up with Consulmex Filadelfia and the Mexican Cultural Center of Philadelphia to bring the Mexican traditions of Dia de los Muertos to the people of Philadelphia. The centuries-old tradition celebrates lost loved ones with bright colors, music, dance, sweets, and storytelling.

The centerpiece of the celebration is an altar decorated with mementos, skulls, flowers, candles and photographs. This year’s altar, created by muralist Cesar Viveros, honored the victims of recent natural disasters, including the earthquake in central Mexico, wildfires in California, and hurricanes in Texas and the Caribbean.

Four community organizations contributed their own altars, and visitors were encouraged to vote for their favorite. Amy Romaine explored the different altars with her 7-year-old daughter, Eleanor.

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Amy Romaine and her daughter Eleanor, 7, check out the community altars at the Penn Museum's annual Day of the Dead celebration
Amy Romaine and her daughter Eleanor, 7, check out the community altars at the Penn Museum’s annual Day of the Dead celebration. (Emily Cohen for WHYY)

“We’ve been coming for most of the years she’s been alive,” Romaine said. “She started at a Spanish immersion kindergarten, and this festival helps her practice what she’s learned. It lets us explore [as a family] new ways to connect with our own ancestors.”

Some revelers came in costume with their own personal takes on Catrina (skull) makeup. Face painting was provided for those who came unprepared.

The event also offered craft activities, wares from local artisans, and information from local businesses. Independence Blue Cross set up a table to remind people about the shorter enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act and offered help navigating the system in English and Spanish.

Ollin Papalotl performed traditional Aztec dances, while Ballet Folklorico Yaretzi presented Mexican folk dances.

The festival fee included access to the whole of the Penn Museum and its artifacts from civilizations all over the world. Museum curator Simon Martin gave tours of the Mexico and Central America gallery.

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