About Our Event

Day of the Dead Columbus is hosted by the non-profit organization Latino Arts for Humanity. It is an educational, cultural, and family event to remember and celebrate our loved ones that are no longer with us. You’ll experience a real Dia de los Muertos, the same way we celebrate in Mexico! Not only that, but you’ll learn how other cultures celebrate their deceased loved ones.

You’ll find: Ofrendas (Offerings), calaveritas literarias, graves decorations, traditional food vendors, live music with local bands and musicians, educational activities for kids, local arts exhibition, arts and crafts vendors, catrina contest, parade with aztec dancers, folklores dances, and much more!

How Did it Start?

It started as a small country presentation in 1999 by Leticia Vazquez-Smith. Then it became to be a community event to share the culture and meaning of it while educating the Columbus public.  Friends and volunteers from the community donated their time, money, and food to make it happen. Leticia made tamales and atole to share with the public as a gift, then it got to be presented in galleries throughout Short North, Clintonville, Westgate, and Italian Village. We then used warehouses and churches to host the event, until finally we found the perfect venue “Greenlawn Cemetery” in 2017.  

The team has influenced and supported many art initiatives throughout Columbus, including Highball and local art exhibitions.

Watch the following video to learn more about Day of the Dead Columbus Festival!

The Day of the Dead is a celebration where pre-Hispanic culture is mix as much as the modern styles of life and art manifestations. The most important part of the celebration is the Offering exhibition. The individuals who participate spend long hours working on the offerings. Many of these offerings are considered true works of art, because they reflect the work, dedication, and creativity of individuals to create a good offering. The Day of the Dead is a cultural festivity to remember family and friends that have passed away and by continuing with this tradition, we keep them alive in our lives.


Video

About Day of the Dead

The meaning of the Day of the Dead celebration is the conception of a new life further on, and life as a duality with death. Death means a step to a new life that never ends.

The Indigenous Tradition

The ritual to the death in the pre-Hispanic communities is the conception of a new life with the Gods, Ometecuhtli and Omecíhuatl. It was important to place all the necessary items needed for the new life, presided over by Mictlantechuhtli and Mictecacíhuatl, Gods that lived in the Mictlán: a place of death. Before removing a corpse from the house, community members used to place food and flowers to the deceased. After exhuming, they would honor the deceased for four days, placing offerings twice a day.

The Existence Life-Death

​The existence beyond said, was in agreement with the form of their death, not with the behavior observed in life. Therefore, the person was not afraid of punishments after death. Hell did not exist as a torment site nor the sin to fear God. 

The old ones used to dress the dead in papers amate or maguey, spilling water on their head saying “this is what you enjoyed in life”. If their death was related of some form to water,  the old ones dressed the deceased as Tláloc, God of rain. A jar of water was placed aside, helping them overcome the obstacles until arriving at their destination.

If the deceased was a high-level community member, a green stone called Chalchihuitl was placed in their mouth. In the case of a common civilian, a stone of less value was placed. They incinerated the corpse, the fire of the cremation was stoked at the same time that dismal songs were intoned, reduced the body to ashes was deposited in a mud pot and they buried it. Also, they burned the deceased properties and instruments of work. The burial was taken place in the house, a temple or mount. Offerings of food, drinks, and flowers were placed.

The Death Like a Duality with Life

In Mexico, in the time of the preclassic culture, (2.000 years A.C.), the teotihuacanos, toltecas, Aztecs, huaxtecos, totonacas, otomíes, puréchas, mixtecos, zapotecos, Mayan, and all indigenous communities, practiced the cult to the death and their rites were similar. They conceived death as a duality with life. We can appreciate it in diverse sculptures that exist at the present time, like skulls with emaciated half found in the city of Mexico and Oaxaca, even figures one incarnated and another skeletal one in the Huasteca. Representations of the single death and of the deities of the same one in all the archaeological zones.

About Latino Arts for Humanity

Latino Arts for Humanity is a non-profit organization that encourages, develops, and preserves the arts and cultural heritage of the Latino community. Our primary goal is to serve as a bridge to the wider public by promoting the Latino arts and culture.

The Mission of LAH is to share with the community the cultural background of the Day of the Dead and provide an opportunity to observe a different perception of the life-death duality. The goal is to educate the community on this celebration through lectures and presentation about the history of the Day of the Dead, in addition to altar exhibits, interactive projects, workshops, kids activities, colorful visual arts, poetry readings, art hosting conversation, music, dance, and food during the Day of the Dead Festival.