Día de los Muertos Exhibit at HVCC’s Marvin Library Oct. 10 – Nov. 3

October 9, 2023

Annual event highlights Mexican tradition with altar display and mariachi band concert.

A colorful exhibition highlighting the centuries’ old Mexican folk holiday – Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) – will be on display from Tuesday, Oct. 10 through Friday, Nov. 3 in the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation Atrium, located in the Marvin Library on the Hudson Valley Community College campus in Troy.

For nearly a decade, Malú Benton, a professor in the English, Foreign Languages and English as a Second Language Department, has created an altar display featuring traditional elements such as esqueletos (skeletons), calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), and flowers. Year by year, the exhibition has grown and its time frame has been extended due to its popularity.

New this year: Fiesta del Norte, a Connecticut-based mariachi band, will present a free, noontime concert on Thursday, Oct. 12 in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium. Fiesta del Norte performs traditional Mexican folk and popular music while dressed in traditional sombreros and “charro” outfits. The concert will feature four musicians/singers performing Mariachis of Jalisco, Nortenas of Chihuahua and Marimba music of Chiapas with guitar, violin, trumpet, plus the stringed vihuela and guitarron. Stories, cultural insights and song translations enhance the program that builds to a joyous conclusion.

Also for the first time this year, the exhibit will include a “pin board.” Members of the campus community will be invited to post pictures of people they wish to remember and honor on Día de los Muertos that is celebrated Nov. 1 - 2.

Both the exhibition and concert are open free to the public. The exhibit is accessible during regular library hours: 7:45 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:45 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

For additional information, contact Debby Gardner at d.gardner@hvcc.edu or (518) 629-8071.