¡CELEBRA EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN SOUTH PHILLY!
Un día lleno de color, cultura y comunidad en memoria de nuestros seres queridos
Celebración de día:
En la Calle 9, organizaddo por La Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos de Filadelfia
1 de noviembre de 2026 | 11:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
En la Calle 9, entre Calle Federal & Calle Christian
Celebración de noche:
Fleisher Art Memorial organizado por La Calaca Flaca
4:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
719 Calle Catharine | Al aire libre en el estacionamiento, bajo las estrellas
A full day of color, culture, and community honoring our dear departed
Daytime Festivities:
9th St. organized by The Association of Mexican Business Owners of Philadelphia
November 1, 2026 | 11:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
9th St., between Federal St. & Christian St.
Evening Celebration:
Fleisher Art Memorial organized by La Calaca Flaca
4:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
719 Catharine St. | Outdoors in the parking lot, under the stars.
El Día de los Muertos 2026 - The Unforgettable Light
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LA LUZ INOLVIDABLE
LA LUZ INOLVIDABLE
El Día de los Muertos 2026 utiliza la luz como símbolo de memoria, esperanza y acompañamiento. Gina Pacheco Brito, artista invitada por el comité La Calaca Flaca para crear la ofrenda comunitaria, encuentra su
inspiración en elementos esenciales de esta tradición que comparten un mismo significado: la luz como energía que guía y atrae a nuestros seres queridos fallecidos para que regresen y nos acompañen.Las veladoras, el cempasúchil y los caminos de aserrín transformarán el Santuario de Fleisher Art Memorial en un espacio comunitario para recordar, honrar y dar la bienvenida a quienes ya no están en nuestro mundo terrenal.
Un aspecto especialmente significativo para nuestra artista es crear una ofrenda dedicada a las personas migrantes que fallecieron en contextos de detención. Sus nombres serán bordados sobre tela blanca como un acto de dignidad, memoria y oración, reconociendo sus vidas y sus historias más allá de las cifras.
A través de talleres comunitarios dirigidos por la artista, se crearán flores de cempasúchil, mariposas monarca, colibríes, papel picado y bordados que formarán parte de la ofrenda y del recorrido. Junto con la comunidad la artista desarrollara nichos de cerámica inspirados en altares tradicionales.
Cada nicho llevará una vela encendida en memoria de las personas fallecidas y será portado durante la procesión como símbolo de duelo y esperanza.
La visión e intención primordial de la artista es crear una práctica colectiva de cuidado, donde el arte y nuestras tradiciones nos permitan mantener viva la
memoria de nuestras raíces, fortalecer a la comunidad y recordar que ninguna vida merece ser olvidada.¡QUE VIVA EL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS EN PHILADELPHIA!
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THE UNFORGETTABLE LIGHT
El Día de los Muertos 2026 uses light as a symbol of memory, hope, and companionship. Gina Pacheco Brito, the artist invited by the La Calaca Flaca committee to create the community altar, La Ofrenda, draws inspiration from essential elements of this tradition that share a common meaning: light as the energy that guides and invites our departed loved ones back to accompany us.
Candlelight, marigolds, and sawdust pathways will transform the Sanctuary at Fleisher Art Memorial into a community space to remember, honor, and welcome those who are no longer with us in our earthly world.
An especially meaningful aspect of the artist’s vision is to create an altar dedicated to migrants who died while in detention. Their names will be embroidered on white fabric as an act of dignity, remembrance, and prayer, honoring their lives and stories beyond the statistics.
Through community workshops led by the artist, participants will create marigold flowers, monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, papel picado, and embroidered pieces that will become part of the altar and procession.
Together with the community, the artist will also create ceramic nichos* inspired by traditional home altars. Each nicho will hold a lit candle in memory of those who have died and will be carried during the procession as a symbol of grief and hope.
The artist’s primary vision and intention is to create a collective practice of care, where art and our traditions allow us to keep the memory of our roots alive, strengthen our community, and remind us that no life deserves to be forgotten.
¡QUE VIVA EL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS EN PHILADELPHIA!
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Conoce a Gina Pacheco Brito
Gina Pacheco Brito es una artista visual queer, migrante ecuatoriana radicada en Filadelfia, ceramista, educadora y organizadora comunitaria. Creció en una familia de ceramistas, donde aprendió desde temprana edad que la cerámica es también una forma de preservar la memoria, sostener a las familias y transmitir conocimientos entre generaciones.
Su práctica interdisciplinaria combina cerámica, escultura, pintura, textiles, técnicas mixtas y participación comunitaria para explorar temas de identidad, migración, desplazamiento, memoria y cuidado colectivo.
Desde 2022 trabaja como artista pedagoga en colaboración con diversas organizaciones de Filadelfia, desarrollando talleres y proyectos para comunidades inmigrantes, jóvenes, mujeres, personas LGBTQ+ y familias. A través de su trabajo, busca ampliar el acceso al arte como herramienta de aprendizaje, conexión y organización, contribuyendo a crear comunidades más justas, solidarias e inclusivas.
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Meet Gina Pacheco Brito
Gina Pacheco Brito is a queer Ecuadorian immigrant visual artist based in Philadelphia, as well as a ceramicist, educator, and community organizer. She grew up in a family of ceramic artists, learning from an early age that ceramics can also be a way to preserve
memory, support families, and pass knowledge from one generation to the next.Her interdisciplinary practice combines ceramics, sculpture, painting, textiles, mixed media, and community participation to explore themes of identity, migration, displacement, memory, and collective care.
Since 2022, she has worked as a teaching artist in collaboration with various Philadelphia organizations, developing workshops and projects for immigrant communities, youth, women, LGBTQ+ people, and
families. Through her work, she seeks to expand access to art as a tool for learning, connection, and collective organizing, contributing to the creation of more just, supportive, and inclusive communities.
Program Overview
What is El Día de los Muertos?
El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) has been observed across Latin America for centuries as a day to honor and celebrate the lives of people we have lost. This celebration is a 3,000-year-old tradition that is incredibly strong and visible in Mexico and in Latin American communities across the US. While specific customs to celebrate may vary across regions of Mexico and Latin America, the general sentiment is to reunite with our loved ones who have died in a celebration that honors them and guides them to find peace and eternal rest. Many other countries around the world have similar traditions honoring the dead; the truth is that we can all relate to the universal experience of loss and longing as we remember the lives of our loved ones.
What does El Día de los Muertos mean to Philadelphia?
In Philadelphia, we honor the tradition by celebrating together as a diverse Latinx community that continues to grow and share culture. Whether we are of Mexican descent or not, we all share the need to contribute and keep this tradition in our region as a means to unite and celebrate our Latinidad. Heritage is extremely important in this conversation as our community shares a diverse ancestral composition that includes Native American, African, European, and Asian roots. This genetic diversity that we now embrace is the result of the pain and suffering of our ancestors inflicted by European colonization in the Americas. In order to celebrate, we must also acknowledge and honor our past; the intention of this celebration is to bring us closer together by honoring the dead and our heritage.
“Between performances from Aztec dance group Cenzontile Cuicatl and altar ceremonies, no cultural stone will be left unturned.”
– Allison Volpe, Philly.com
Dia De Muertos at Fleisher Art Memorial (2017)
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