Cuca Gonzalez, 85, and Teresa Moreno, 72, came to the Nelson-Atkins celebration in Day of the Dead costumes. They said they’d been to a fashion show at their church in Kansas City, Kansas, which is raising money for a children’s center. “We are the new generation of the old that won’t die,” Moreno said. The Day of the Dead celebration has attracted crowds to the Nelson-Atkins for the past two years.
Building on a successful celebration last year, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art hosted another big party around the Day of the Dead yesterday.
El Dio de los Muertos is a popular holiday celebrated in Mexico on Nov. 1 and 2. Family and friends build private altars using sugar skulls, flowers, and the favorite foods and drinks of the deceased.
At the Nelson-Atkins, a team of local artists lead by Jenny Mendez with the local Mattie Rhodes Center and Mexican artist Betsabeé Romero built a large alter in Kirkwood Hall.
View our Day of the Dead slideshow
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