‘La cultura cura’: Mikiztli honors Indigenous roots of Día de Muertos in downtown Phoenix

For the first time in its history, Mikiztli, Cultural Coalition’s Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival, took place in the heart of downtown Phoenix at the Arizona Center, captivating thousands of attendees with Indigenous dances, Mexican folklore music and vibrant skull art. 

Now in its 14th consecutive year, Mikiztli stayed true to its mission of highlighting the Indigenous roots of Día de Muertos, inviting families and people from all walks of life to connect with a cultural celebration that honors heritage and strengthens identity.

“We're here — our organization — celebrating Mikiztli in order to honor the true meaning, the original meaning of this celebration that wasn't about death, it's about transcendence. And transcendence is when you let go of the flesh and you let go of the ego,” Zarco Guerrero said in an interview with CALÓ News. “We can transcend while we're still alive. That's one of the beautiful things about our Indigenous legacy that was passed on to us, so that's what we want to honor.” 

Guerrero is co-founder of Cultural Coalition and the artist behind the colorful masks that have become the festival’s defining symbol. To him, the skull-inspired masks of Mikiztli embody the spirit of the festival — a celebration of life and remembrance of departed loved ones through the arts.

“The calaca represents our ancestors,” Zarco said. “When the kids put on the mask and they dance with the calaca, they're dancing in the footsteps of our ancestors… to call the spirits back home.” 

Decades after Día de Muertos celebrations were brought to the United States by the Chicano Movement in the 1970s,Mikiztli continues to carry the same legacy of cultural resistance, one that allows communities to reclaim their stories and affirm their existence against erasure. 

Honoring Día de Muertos Indigenous roots

With Indigenous origins in Mexico — a country once home to the Aztec Empire — Día de Muertos is celebrated throughout Latin America and in the United States, where it has transcended not only borders but also generations. 

Observed on Nov. 1 and 2, the celebration teaches that death is not an end but a continuation of life, welcoming back the souls of loved ones through colorful ofrendas that honor their memory and guide them back home.

The traditional elements of ofrendas include:

• Candles: Their light gives hope and peace to the souls and represents the fire element in the ofrenda.

• Marigold (cempasuchil) flowers: Their yellow color and distinctive smell guide the souls back home to their families. 

• Incense: Purifies the environment.

• Salt: Helps the souls not get lost during their stay in the living world.

• Papel picado: Represents air, one of the four elements in the ofrenda.

• Pan de muerto: Represents the cycle of life to death.

• Water: Calms the thirst of the souls. 

• Sugar skulls and fruits like mandarines, sugar cane, oranges and jicama.

• Photos of departed loved ones.

Cultural Coalition renamed the festival to Mikiztli in 2018. The Náhuatl word symbolizes the transition between life and death, and, therefore, the celebration centers pre-Hispanic altar traditions and contemporary representations of Indigenous art, music and dance, reminding the communities in metro Phoenix that Día de Muertos is more than a commercial holiday.

“Dia de los Muertos has been commercialized, gentrified and there's nothing we can do about that. And that's the way it is. But we want to be different,” Guerrero said. “We're trying to decolonize, that's what we're trying to do. And we're trying to indigenize our community, make them aware of our Indigenous heritage that has been erased. It's been denied.”

With performances by Coatlicue Danza Mexica, Ballet Folklorico Quetzalli and Quetzal Guerrero, the organization preserves and celebrates Chicano, Latinx and Indigenous heritage by sharing artistic programs with the community.

“It's our grain of sand. It's what we put into the seed we planted in the sun of our humanity so that art can grow and so that art and culture can continue for centuries to come,” Carmen Guerrero, co-founder of Cultural Coalition, said in an interview with CALÓ News. “That's very important to me as an artist, as a mother, as a grandmother, as a member of my community and also as someone who has dedicated her whole life to the arts.” 

‘La cultura cura’

With vendors selling products referencing Mexican culture and crafts inspired by Indigenous symbolism, Latinx culture “is alive and vibrant,” Zarco Guerrero said. 

Through community ofrendas, like the one constructed during Mikizlti, Chicanos transformed a private ritual into a public expression that celebrated their community’s contributions to the country while raising awareness of their struggles, according to a study by Regina Marchi, a professor of journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, who has written multiple books about the celebration in the U.S.

As the Latinx community continues to face a “negative and racist” environment, Mikiztli serves as a gentle reminder of the joy of having an identity rooted in ancestral artistry, according to Carmen Guerrero. 

“We believe that la cultura cura — culture heals us,” Zarco Guerrero said. “[The festival] is medicine. This is healing people. They're smiling. They're laughing. They're singing. They're dancing.”

Nicole Macias Garibay is a transborder storyteller and bilingual journalist from the U.S.-Mexico border. Her upbringing crossing the border on the daily fuels her drive to report on migration, Latino culture and the Hispanic community. She wrote for La Voz-The Arizona Republic, interned at Telemundo Arizona and launched VOCES, a bilingual magazine dedicated to telling stories para la comunidad, por la comunidad.