A Dia de los Muertos to Remember
Residents recently gathered in Reno to celebrate día de los muertos. As Ember Braun reports, people from all around Reno came to take part in the festivities and are grateful that more Latino cultural events are happening around northern Nevada.
On October 29, East Pueblo Street was bustling with people attending the Día de los Muertos — or Day of the Dead — festival in Reno.
People of all ages gathered to watch dancers and singers in the center of the street. Vendors lined up on the sides, selling food, clothing and more.
This was the fourth annual festival hosted by Latino Arte and Culture — a non-profit getting more and more active in the community, with concerts, community gatherings and theater productions.
For many, celebrating Día de los Muertos is a yearly tradition. Tanya Ruiz is one of those people, walking the packed street with her family.
“This holiday connects us with our departed. So it’s our chance to celebrate them,” Ruiz said. The festival was an opportunity for her children to see the performers and get immersed in the holiday.
Ruiz has lived in Reno her whole life. She says that Reno does not have enough Latino arts and culture events — but that it’s starting to get better.
“Definitely wasn’t like this when I was growing up. And I think there’s been a lull but obviously COVID has kinda gotten in the way of a lot of things. And as things have started to ramp up, I feel like they’re starting to do a lot more inclusivity for the Latino culture and there’s a lot of powerhouses that are leading that,” she said.
Other attendees of the festival happened upon it by chance, like Landon Frenzel and his partner. After eating at a nearby restaurant and seeing the festivities, they decided to walk over.
“This is one of the first specifically Latino arts and culture events that I’ve seen. I think it’s really awesome for the city just to show its diversity and really expose everybody to this celebration,” Frenzel said.
Frenzel has lived in Reno for about four years. He tries to participate in festivals and local events as often as he can. One of his favorite parts of the Día de los Muertos festival was the music and the drums that the performers used.
The non profit placed a large altar at the center of the street, where the community could place pictures of their loved ones who have passed. Salvador Ruiz stood in front of the altar, admiring it.
Ruiz said that he doesn’t celebrate Día de los Muertos, but that he wanted to come to the celebration to see something different. He and his partner want to attend more events in the future. Ruiz moved to the U.S. from Peru. He’s been living in Reno for about a year now.
“We wish we could have more time to do it,” he said. “The art of what they put into the Día de los Muertos. This is new for us. It’s incredible. For us it’s different. So it’s cool to know and respect other people’s culture and believings.”
