SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY CELEBRATES DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS WITH CONCERT EVENT, LOBBY ART, COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES, AND ¡FIESTA! DINNER EXPERIENCE, NOVEMBER 5
Carlos Miguel Prieto conducts the San Francisco Symphony in music by Evencio
SF Symphony presents Día de los Muertos, November 5, 2022
Castellanos Yumar, Arturo Márquez, José Pablo Moncayo García, Gabriela Ortiz, and Silvestre Revueltas; trumpet player Pacho Flores is soloist in Arturo Márquez’ Concierto de Otoño; with performances by Casa Círculo Cultural and Canción de Obsidiana
Local artists, community groups, and Latin American cultural partners join the SF Symphony to celebrate Día de los Muertos through lobby art installations and pre-concert activities
¡Fiesta! Día de los Muertos dinner packages include post-concert reception, seated dinner, and online auction plus premium concert seating
The San Francisco Symphony presents its 15th annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration at Davies Symphony Hall, featuring a concert program of traditional and contemporary Latin American music, preceded by a festive array of family-friendly activities and followed by the ¡Fiesta! Día de los Muertos fundraiser, on Saturday, November 5. Carlos Miguel Prieto conducts the San Francisco Symphony in the concert program, which includes Arturo Márquez’ Concierto de Otoño, featuring trumpet soloist Pacho Flores, as well as music by Evencio Castellanos Yumar, José Pablo Moncayo García, Gabriela Ortiz, and Silvestre Revueltas. The concert opens with an Aztec neon serpent procession featuring Casa Círculo Cultural and Canción de Obsidiana. Every year leading up to the Symphony’s Day of the Dead celebration, the lobbies of Davies Symphony Hall are transformed with immersive art installations and altars built by local artists to honor the living and the deceased. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the art installations, family activities, sugar skulls, and live music, and everyone is invited to contribute to the interactive altars.
Tickets can be purchased online at SFSymphony.org/Dia, by calling the SF Symphony box office at 415-864-6000, or by visiting the box office located on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street.
Curated by longtime SF Symphony collaborator Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, this year’s Día de los Muertos celebration honors the ancestral and sacred rites and beliefs of several Indigenous cultures of the Americas that hold the belief that death and life are not two independent and isolated states but a natural part of the cycle of life. The event features music, art installations, and ofrendas from both ancient and contemporary communities, including the Náhuatl from central Mexico, the Wixárikas (or Huicholes) from the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Mayas from the Yucatán peninsula, and a special homage to Native American people of the Bay Area. When the Spaniards came to the Americas, one of the most important celebrations for the Aztecs was called Xocotl Huetzi, which translates as “the great feast of the gods,” marking the completion of the annual cycle of cultivation of maize. It was celebrated around the same time as the Christian feast days of All Saints and All Souls, on November 1 and 2. In an attempt to win the spirit of the Indigenous people, the Spaniards put All Saints Day on a par with the Day of the Dead, even though the two celebrations have completely different origins. The Day of the Dead stands today as an example of the cultural fusion that took place following the conquest of the Americas, and the resilience of Indigenous people to retain and adapt their sacred beliefs amidst a new Western presence. Martha Rodríguez-Salazar comments, “We hope that this event inspires a deep appreciation of what life can offer us through music, art, and community.”
Día de los Muertos Concert is presented in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission. ¡Fiesta! Día de los Muertos presenting sponsors: Alexander’s Steakhouse Group, Pamela Rummage Culp, and Sharon & David Seto.
Ticket links:
Concert tickets: https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/Dia-De-Los-Muertos
¡Fiesta! dinner packages: https://www.sfsymphony.org/Special-Events/diadelosmuertos
