The Dead Have Their Day

The public is invited to join about 100 actors and performers in colorful carnival processions Sunday and Monday commemorating the traditional Mexican Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Carnival Calavera (Skull Carnival) lends a central theme to the Inlakech Theatre Company’s ninth annual cultural celebration. It will include a 13-foot skeleton, carnival floats and performances by Aztec and Mexican dance and theater groups. The event is sponsored by the Ventura County Arts Council, Teatro Inlakech and local agencies.

“The Day of the Dead symbolizes the fusion of two cultures--the culture of the indigenous people of Latin America and the observation of the Spanish-Christian All Saint’s Day on November 1,” said event coordinator Javier Gomez, who is also an Oxnard artist and teacher.

The Day of the Dead is observed Nov. 2 mostly in Mexico, where Aztec legend holds that the dead are released from Mictlan--the land of the dead--to roam about and visit the living.

Gomez encourages participants to wear masks and costumes in keeping with the event’s surreal and celebratory tone. Participants also are invited to bring a candle and noisemakers as well as photographs or the favorite food or drink of a departed loved one. The memorabilia, along with written messages, can be placed on a community altar after the parade.

On Sunday a procession will leave at 6 p.m. from Westpark Community Center, 450 W. Harrison St., Ventura, and arrive at the Livery Arts Center, 34 N. Palm St., where a theatrical performance is planned for 6:45 p.m.

Monday’s procession will leave at 6 p.m. from the corner of Faculty and Regent avenues on the California Lutheran University campus, 60 W. Olsen Rd., Thousand Oaks. It will end at 6:45 p.m. at the Preus-Brandt Forum, where a program of traditional music, dance and drama will be presented.

“The event is a good way of celebrating with joy instead of sorrow the beauty of our life here and our life in the hereafter,” said Gomez.

An exhibit of traditional Day of the Dead folk art and contemporary-themed altars made by local artists will be on display at the Momentum Gallery, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 21.

The gallery is open Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Fridays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 8 p.m. Admission is free to all events. For more information, call 486-7468 or 652-2820.