What to know about Saturday's free Día de los Muertos celebration at FUSION

Día de los Muertos is a celebration for the living and the dead.

Lensic 360 and FUSION will host a free Día De Los Muertos celebration that features local and touring artists on Saturday, Nov. 2, at FUSION, 708 1st St. NW. The event is sponsored by Nusenda Credit Union and the New Mexico Music Commission.

What to know about Saturday's free Día de los Muertos celebration at FUSION

“We wanted to do more free public programming... and now we’re trying to go downtown this year with the plans of expansion into 2025,” said Tim Franke, associate director for Lensic 360. “We thought we could put a full whole Saturday of music together. It just kind of came together organically.”

Día de los Muertos is a day dedicated to paying respect to loved ones who have passed away. The day is filled with celebration of life activities to positively remember good times with friends and family.

Following the Mexican tradition, the celebration will feature food, music and entertainment. Local Latin band Nosotros, Afro-Latin group QUITAPENAS from California, cumbia band Radio Malilla from El Paso and DJ Prieto from Austin will perform live during the event.

“Nosotros is one of northern New Mexico’s favorites and they’re a mix of rock, cumbia, salsa and Latin jazz,” Franke said. “Our headliner is Quitapenas and they are first generation sons of immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico and we want to have a good Latin American representation for this.”

Radio Malilla will perform a “progressive, contemporary style of cumbia” and New Mexico born DJ Prieto will open each set with reggaeton, salsa and cumbia style music and perform between bands.

When guests aren’t listening to Latin tunes, they can grab a bite from a variety of food vendors, shop Latin American craft vendors and view the FUSION art gallery.

“We’ll have some food vendors on each end of it (FUSION) and then some craft vendors along the back wall,” Franke said.

Vendors will sell items like paletas, aguas frescas and Salvadorian pupusas. Adults can enjoy an alcoholic beverage from Safe House Distilling Company and Teller Genuine Vodka.

There will be plenty of fun for the entire family including a children’s face painting station fit for a Día de los Muertos celebration.

“This is definitely family-friendly,” Franke said. “Bring your grandma, bring your kids and come dance.”

Franke wants to reach the Albuquerque community with more public events like the Día de los Muertos celebration.

“I thought this would speak to the community of Albuquerque at this time of year,” he said. “It’s really about timing this time of year. I’m just really excited to be doing free public programming and it’s Lensic 360’s mission to provide programming to all areas of Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos.”