MIKIZTLI: Día de los Muertos PHX Festival

PHOENIX, AZ – Cultural Coalition is excited to announce the return of its signature event, the MIKIZTLI: Día de los Muertos PHX Festival! Now in its 15th year, the beloved community celebration will be at the Arizona Center in Downtown Phoenix for a second year on Saturday, October 24, from 4 p.m to 9 p.m. Building on last year's successful debut at the new venue, this milestone event promises an unforgettable evening honoring the enhanced facilities and cooler evening temperatures that allow attendees to enjoy the full festival from start to finish. The heart of the festival remains vibrant and strong, with all the cherished elements that have made MIKIZTLI a family favorite event for the residents of Phoenix. Attendees can count on seeing captivating performances by Mariachi Rubor, Coatlicue Danza Mexica, Enparoxismo Music, Quetzalli and Primavera Ballet Folklóricos and the youth-led mariachi Hermanas del Corazon. Closing the festival will be the dynamic group Los Ravines, an energetic band from Yuma, Arizona, celebrated for their blend of Latin rock, ska, reggae, cumbia, and banda. The festival will also feature larger-than-life giant puppets, live art demonstrations, the ancestral wisdom of curanderas, and a magnificent community altar that invites the public to bring photos and special objects to add to this meaningful 'ofrenda' in honor of departed loved ones. "We're thrilled to welcome our community back to the Arizona Center for our 15th annual MIKIZTLI Festival," says Carmen Guerrero, Cultural Coalition Executive Director. "Last year's move gave us the space and resources to grow the festival, bringing in more vendors and making it more accessible and comfortable for our community. Returning for a second year, we're excited to build on that momentum and welcome even more families to this centralized, vibrant hub with ample parking, ensuring that everyone can participate in this rich cultural tradition." Every inch of the Arizona Center will come alive with the spirit of Día de los Muertos, engaging attendees with family-friendly art activities, a diverse array of amazing art vendors offering unique handcrafted goods, and a delicious selection of local food trucks. Zarco Guerrero, Cultural Coalition co-founder and artistic director, adds, "Our priority has always been to create a meaningful and joyous celebration that truly reflects the spirit of Día de los Muertos and its indigenous origins. Returning to the Arizona Center for our 15th anniversary gives us another opportunity to provide even more arts and culture experiences for our communities to connect with." One of the most significant benefits of the Arizona Center location is the enhanced parking availability. Attendees will have access to ample parking at the Arizona Center garages, with validations for 2 free hours to make the experience even more convenient. Join the Cultural Coalition for the 15th Annual MIKIZTLI: Día de los Muertos PHX Festival in partnership with the Arizona Center for an unforgettable evening of culture, art, and community. This event is free for all, made possible with support from the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Raza Development Fund, and Salt River Project. For more festival information and updates, visit culturalcoalition.com/events/mikiztli-dia-de-los-muertos-festival. FESTIVAL DETAILS: WHEN: Saturday, October 24th, 2026 from 4 p.m to 9 p.m. WHERE: Arizona Center - 455 N 3rd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004 COST: Free PARKING: 2 hours Free at the adjacent Parking Garage ABOUT CULTURAL COALITION, INC Cultural Coalition, Inc. is a local non-profit whose mission is to connect communities and generations to ancestral knowledge and practices through artistic cultural preservation and programs that celebrate Chicano, Latiné, and Indigenous heritages. For the past 30 years, we have committed to supporting Chicano, Latiné, and indigenous artists while providing free access to all families. We are dedicated to the education, promotion, and development of artists throughout Arizona and serve our community with much needed artistic programs that highlight and amplify the cultural diversity of the Valley of the Sun. ABOUT MIKITZLI In 2018, Cultural Coalition, Inc. changed the name of their annual Dia de los Muertos Festival to “Mikitztli” because of the blatant commercialization and cultural appropriation of El Dia de Los Muertos theme and its related imagery. In order to better communicate and share this ancient indigenous cosmo-vision, they decolonized the name of their festival to Mikiztli – pronounced [meeh-keesh-tleeh] – which means “transition” and is symbolized as the “calaca” or “the smiling skull”. In the Nahuatl language, the name given to this celebration is Mihcailhuitl [meeh-kah-ell-ooueeh-tl] and translated means “the feast of the spirits.” FOLLOW CULTURAL COALITION INC Websites culturalcoalition.com and diadelosmuertosphx.com Facebook @culturalcoalitionaz Instagram @culturalcoaz Twitter @CulturalCoAz YouTube youtube.com/culturalcoalition