San Miguel de Allende’s beloved Festival de Vivos y Muertos will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. The whole family can join in the fun on Sunday, October 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After several years at the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez “El Nigromante” (Bellas Artes), this year Vivos y Muertos is returning to its roots in San Miguel’s beautiful Parque Juárez. As always, it is free and open to everyone.

At the festival, children are invited to prepare for el Día de Muertos by creating artworks for their families’ ofrendas, with a wonderful variety of art materials at their disposal. For example, they can paint ceramic skulls, craft puppets, make bracelets and decorate papier-mache sculptures, moving between makers’ stations throughout the day. Each year, several hundred children participate over the course of the day.

Enjoy 10th Anniversary surprises at this year’s festival

Kids also enjoy other fun activities, including face painting, storytelling, a puppet show, the crafting of a large community ofrenda, and the always-popular talent show, which is open to kids 16 and under. This year’s show will take place at 2:30 p.m. Sign up on the day of the event.

Co-founders Tina Bueche and Fernando Tovar envisioned the festival as a chance to offer the children of San Miguel de Allende a fun and deeply meaningful day of creative expression. The event is community-oriented and intentionally non-commercial.

This year’s edition will feature exciting surprises and special activities in honor of the anniversary, including a reunion of talent show participants from throughout the festival’s ten-year history.

Volunteers welcome: get involved!

Volunteers are currently collecting and preparing a wide variety of arts and craft supplies for children to use at the festival. The organizers are always open to additional volunteers and donations of art supplies. Please contact Tina Bueche at tinainsma@gmail.com for more information.

While preparing to remember and honor the family members who have gone before them, these kids get to spend a free, fun day exploring their own artistic talents and enjoying many methods of creative expression. This inclusive, community-building festival, which has grown organically over the years, is a wonderful gift to the children of San Miguel de Allende and the community as a whole. 

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.