Mexico Week returns to Rockefeller Center for Day of the Dead
Photo courtesy of Tishman Speyer
Rockefeller Center is hosting its second annual Mexico Week, a celebration of Mexican heritage and Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Over the course of the weeklong event, New Yorkers can experience Mexican art, food, music, and culture across the campus. Mexico Week kicks off this Thursday and runs through November 2.
Rockefeller Center first hosted Mexico week in 1964, continuing the tradition through the mid-1970s. The celebration was revived for the first time in decades last year.
Mexico Week is being hosted by the Consulate General of Mexico in New York City, the Mexican Cultural Institute, Museo de Art Moderno, and Rockefeller Center.
Photos courtesy of Tishman Speyer
In celebration of the 170th anniversary of his birth, Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada’s work will be displayed in the lobby of 10 Rockefeller Plaza through November 2.
Like last year’s event, a large ofrenda, or an altar that honors lost loved ones, will be installed on the plaza. Presented by Tequila Casa Dragones and INTERprotección with the support of Museo de Arte Moderno, the ofrenda will honor and celebrate Mexican modern sculptors that are featured in Pedro Reyes’ MONUMENTAL: The Public Dimension of Sculpture 1927-1979, a book that celebrates Mexico’s iconic sculptural art. There will also be a separate public exhibition dedicated to MONUMENTAL.
The ofrenda will be joined by two alebrijes created by Cesar Menchaca. Alebrijes are vibrant sculptures that depict fictional creatures. Menchaca’s two sculptures will depict a large jaguar and Quetzalcoatl, a deity in ancient Mesoamerican culture.
Photos courtesy of Tishman Speyer
Situated on the Top of the Rock observation deck and throughout the plaza will be Menchaca’s catrinas, fashionably dressed skeleton sculptures that are synonymous with the Day of the Dead. The sculptures will appear as both Mexican and American cultural icons.
Hosted every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on October 28, 29, and 30 and from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on October 31, November 1, and 2 is the tianguis. A tianguis is a type of open-air market featuring authentic Mexican food and artisanal goods. The market will also include Tequila Casa Dragones, a small batch, luxury Mexican sipping tequila.
Image courtesy of Tequila Casa Dragones
Tequila Casa Dragones will be hosting educational programming to teach guests about the art of tequila sipping. The company will also offer special tastings and free customization with every purchase of their tequila bottles.
The market will host designer Carla Fernández who will have some of her items up for sale that “exemplify the textile legacy of indigenous and mestizo communities in Mexico,” according to a press release. Carla Fernández is one of the most influential fashion and textile brands in Mexico, working to preserve Mexico’s rich textile heritage.
All Mexico Week installations and events are free to the public, except for the catrinas at the Top of the Rock which are only open to observation deck ticket holders.
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Photos courtesy of Tishman Speyer unless otherwise noted
