In recent years, between Halloween and All Saints' Day, a newcomer has entered the autumn celebrations: “Dia de Muertos”. This Mexican festivity has gone global after the release of the movie Coco, and since then, numerous “fiestas de los muertos” have appeared in Brussels. To the point of losing its identity? The organizers of the Mikiztli festival refuse to let this happen, and are offering a ten-day “Dia de Muertos” organized entirely by the Mexican community.
From November 1 to 10, at the Maison de Quartier Malibran in Ixelles, the Mikiztli festival is organizing a series of events around the Day of the Dead. Mikiztli means death in Náhuatl. It is also the symbol drawn on what is considered to be the Aztec calendar and which, consequently, indicated the Mikiztli festivities, i.e. celebrations around death and the dead. A colorful, flowery, warm and celebratory death. Not a rupture, but a natural transition deeply linked to the very cycle of life.
This tradition dates back to pre-Columbian times and has been part of Mexican DNA for centuries. In recent years, this way of approaching and celebrating death has become popular all over the world. Since the release of the film Coco, like the marketing phenomenon Frida Kahlo, “Dia de Muertos” has become cool. To the point of turning it into a meaningless pop culture object? That's exactly what the organizers of Mikiztli want to avoid, as they aim to give the Mexican community back a say in their own celebration.
“Recreate our tradition through our voices”
For festival organizer Gea Zazil, this reappropriation involves three factors. Firstly, this independence requires the full involvement of Brussels' Mexican community in the festival. This is a 100% Mexican festival, made possible by the participation of 35 collaborators, some 20 volunteers and six sponsors, all from Mexico. Secondly, financial independence. Thanks to the support of the Commune d'Ixelles' participatory budget, the Mexican artist was able to take charge of the programming, without having to make any compromises.
Finally, an all-Mexican organizing team is at the helm. These include artist Imix Stevens for logistics and illustrator Ana Ofelia Barragán, responsible for the festival's visual identity, among other things. Other members of Brussels' Mexican community complete the team, including artists Gabriela Leguizamo and Jair Jetzehu, as well as Margarita Saldana, the woman behind the delicious “SoCal Tacos” you've already enjoyed at the Wolf food-market.
Un festival à la vie, à la mort
The festival's program is designed so that you can bring the whole family, arrive in the early afternoon and extend into the evening. Exhibitions, concerts, dance, theater and DJ sets alternate throughout the week.
It's a festival for adults and kids alike, who can take advantage of the make-up stand to take on the features of the famous catrinas (female skeletons, a regular feature of Day of the Dead parades), or take part in a workshop to learn how to make cempasuchil (yellow flowers whose color and scent guide souls to the altars of the dead) or papel picado, aesthetic and symbolic elements essential to “Dia de Muertos”. Numerous conferences given by Mexican researchers will punctuate the ten-day festival to explain to participants the origins, philosophy and symbols surrounding the “Dia de Muertos”. But also its current and future evolution. At a special event, Mexicans from all over the world will be asked to explain how the dead are celebrated in their host countries.
For 10 days, a great celebration will take place at Malibran. A festival “à la vie, à la mort”, as the poster says. But also a militant celebration, aware of the growing risks of cultural appropriation. For the organizers, “there's still time to make up for lost time and take back the reins of our traditions”. Traditions, they like to remind us, that are Mexican, but intended for the entire multicultural community of Brussels.
All info on: instagram.com/mikiztli.be
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