Life in Death Festival

The Life in Death Festival will be held on November 1st and 2nd, 2023 at Winchester Dondero Cultural Center and will feature performances on stage each day with Mexican dance troupes and readings of “calaveras,” or “skulls,” which are poems, usually humorous, written “in memory” of people who are still alive. They treat the menace of death with good-natured humor and offer a chance to poke fun at prominent people. People may also participate in the Day of the Dead art exhibit. Artists are advised to learn Day of the Dead traditions which honor the dead, but also confront death itself, often with a humorous attitude. Meanwhile, dance, music, and humorous poetry remind us that death helps define life, and should not be feared.