Festival de las Calaveras
Twin Cities Dia de los Muertos
$7,161 Raised
- 7 Donors
- 8 Donations
24% complete
$30,000 Goal
New update
Dear Community Partner,
Since 2013, Caracol Latino Performing Arts has presented Festival de las Calaveras, a volunteer-led Latinx music and arts festival celebrating Día de los Muertos. Each fall, thousands of Minnesotans from all backgrounds attend the festival to experience music, art, and cultural expression. Over the years, the festival has grown in scale and impact and we are so proud of the work we’ve done to elevate Latinx artistry in Minnesota.
At the center of our work is a commitment to supporting artists and creating meaningful experiences for our communities. Each year, we create paid opportunities for artists and present high-quality arts activities at accessible prices. This year, however, we are facing a challenge.
For fourteen years, we have successfully supported festival activities through a combination of grants, sponsorships, donations, and earned income. Unfortunately, due to an unexpected loss in grant funding, we are facing a $25,000 gap in our festival budget. We remain fully committed to presenting the festival this October. However, without this critical funding, will have to reduce or eliminate some of the experiences that community members have come to love—free family art-making activities, youth performances, local artist showcases, community ofrendas, and cultural demonstrations.
We are turning to our community of sponsors and donors to help ensure the festival continues to thrive. Your support will help ensure Festival de las Calaveras remains an impactful cultural event in 2026 and for years to come.
I hope you consider supporting the festival to keep Latinx art thriving in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Together, we can continue building a festival that honors memory, celebrates life, and brings
our community together through the arts. Thank you for your consideration and support.
With gratitude,
Deborah Ramos
Founder/Director, Festival de las Calaveras
Caracol Latino Performing Arts
Festival de las Calaveras:
Twin Cities Dia de los Muertos Celebration
www.festivalcalaveras.com
About Festival de las Calaveras
Since 2013, Festival de las Calaveras has been a volunteer-led Latino music and arts festival rooted in the cultural traditions and contemporary expressions of Día de los Muertos. Founded by Tlalnepantla Arts, a grassroots community arts organization, the festival is now evolving under a bold new identity as Caracol Latino Performing Arts—Minnesota’s emerging multidisciplinary Latino arts center.
The festival celebrates and uplifts Latino, Latina, and Latinx artists, culture, and community through music, art, and meaningful cultural expression. We embrace both ancestral and modern interpretations of Día de los Muertos, reflecting the dynamic spirit of our communities.
What We Do
Festival de las Calaveras is more than a single event—it’s a series of multidisciplinary celebrations that take place each fall, featuring:
- Live music across genres
- Dance performances rooted in tradition and innovation
- Puppet theater and multimedia animation
- Visual arts exhibitions and spoken word
- Family-friendly art-making activities
These events highlight Latino, Latina, and Latinx excellence across artistic disciplines and are hosted at leading venues across the Twin Cities, creating and claiming space for Latino artistry and cultural presence.
Our Goals
Festival de las Calaveras honors Día de los Muertos within the Latino community, celebrating the diversity of cultural, generational, gender, educational, and economic identities.
Though not all share the same ancestral traditions, the festival invites everyone to recognize shared roots and common values. It also welcomes other cultural communities and allies to celebrate the remembrance of their own ancestors through the lens of Latino artistic expression and the Day of the Dead tradition.
Through art, performance, and reflection, the festival creates a space for connection, healing, and affirmation—inviting all to honor those who came before us.
Our Roots
The festival began as an extension of the Zenteotl Project, a cultural initiative of Tlalnepantla Arts (2009–2017) that wove together Mexica (Aztec) dance, visual art, and urban agriculture in South Minneapolis. The project centered around a community garden where organic blue corn was ceremonially planted and harvested.
In 2013, the first Festival de las Calaveras was created to honor this work and featured a Día de los Muertos ofrenda (altar) built on the same land where the corn was grown. Planted as a seed of local remembrance and cultural expression, the festival has grown into a powerful platform—connecting artists, families, and communities across generations.
Rising Voices Spotlight
The Rising Voices Spotlight was created to honor Día de los Muertos as a celebration of life across generations. Debuted in 2025, it uplifts emerging youth artists while grounding them in the wisdom of community elders, recognizing young people as the future cultural carriers of tradition.
Through music, storytelling, dance, and spoken word, the Spotlight bridges generations and keeps ancestral knowledge in conversation with new creative expression.
Your support helps sustain this intergenerational stage and ensures youth artists are nurtured, seen, and heard as they grow into the next stewards of community memory and celebration.