Dia de Los Muertos in Arizona

As yellow-orange marigolds fill the air and tombstones are greeted with laughter and food offerings, families reunite one night of the year to celebrate the legacies of old spirits.
The Mexican holiday known as “Dia de Los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead”, takes place every year on Nov. 2, and is celebrated in many different ways through art and celebrations.
The tradition dates back 3,000 years, which follows Aztec rituals and ideals that death is an everlasting part of life, according to History.com. Usually, in Mexico, the night is met with a mass service, and the festivities continue onto the cemetery where favorite foods of past loved ones are brought to commemorate their life.
This can also be done at home, where families set up personalized altars called “ofrendas,” which are styled with pictures of loved ones, marigold flowers, and of course their favorite dish. The tradition is still carried out here in the U.S. as families with Mexican heritage celebrate their culture in various expressive outlets.
Darrin Armijo-Wardle, a local Phoenix artist, has painted many Day of the Dead pieces that focus and center his appreciation for the holiday on the Aztec god Mictanlecutli, and his wife and goddess of the underworld, Mictecacihuatl, which is displayed in the Scottsdale Dia de Los Muertos Festival. A festival that is held at the Old Adobe Mission, a historical site in Scottsdale built by Mexican farmworkers.
Armijo-Wardle says that it’s important to tell a story that makes the connection between Mexican culture and Phoenix’s past.
“I’m inspired and fascinated by the ancient past and how it connects to the present. Modern Phoenix was founded as a city that was both Anglo and Mexican at one point. The longest-serving sheriff besides Joe Arpaio is Enrique Garfias, who came to Phoenix from Mexico,” Armijo-Wardle said. “Day of the Dead is the polar opposite (of Halloween), It’s the celebration of both life, death, and the family. Ultimately it’s an act of transformation: the skull can become an object of beauty and renewal. Death becomes something vibrant and beautiful.”
This year, the Culture Coalition, a local non-profit organization dedicated to educating, promoting, and developing cultural programs and Indigenous artists here in the Valley, put on a virtual Dia de Los Muertos show titled Mikitzli.
From looking for sponsors, developing a budget, creating marketing themes, to contacting local performers and other cultural organizations, the show took a village to execute. Carmen Guerrero, the executive director, explains the reason and message behind the event.
“Our inspiration is our ancestral past and the vibrancy and diversity of indigenous cultures. We are committed to revitalize and share our cultural gifts with our community and the world while keeping these artistic practices alive for the next generations,” Guerrero said.

“We are committed to the creative families in our community. These are mostly low to moderate-income local families with indigenous roots, that know the value of the arts and make many sacrifices to provide their children with meaningful cultural experiences (mariachi music, folkloric dancing, etc...). They buy the instruments, the costumes, pay for classes, drive their children to classes and performances, and most of all they enjoy seeing them perform with their friends and extended families.”
Diego Perez, a Phoenix-based artist originally from Coyacan, Mexico, paid tribute to a specific artist for Day of the Dead in a painting. He describes his art piece that was shown at the Scottsdale Dia de Los Muertos Festival, as a goodbye to one of his most admired painters in his career: Francisco Toledo.
“A year ago, master Francisco Toledo died. He was an Oaxacan painter that influenced my career. It was very important for me to share part of my culture and involvement with my traditions. Master Toledo is an example for any artist, he was an activist that fought for human and land rights for the Indigenous community in Oaxaca,” Perez said.
“I decided to honor Toledo in my piece for his death, but also for the patrimony that he left, a beautiful art library, and his artistic legacy, and for Oaxaca's downtown preservation.”