From 31 October to 2 November 2025, Calaca e.V., together with the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, presents the second edition of the Fiesta de Día de Muertos – an intergenerational Mexican Festival of the Dead as part of the annual programme In Relation: Family. The event combines music, dance, performance, theatre, workshops, market, and culinary specialties in a colourful, contemplative, and joyful celebration dedicated to the deceased.
Abb. oben: Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, Foto: Frank Sperling
According to ancient Mexican belief, the dead return from the afterlife at the beginning of November to reunite with the living. This tradition, celebrated far beyond Mexico, also takes place in Berlin, where colonial and pre-Hispanic cultural traditions intertwine – with the indigenous worldview asserting itself in subversive dialogue with Catholicism.
This year’s festival focuses on the themes of racism and mestizaje (cultural hybridity), which are closely linked to the origins of the Day of the Dead and continue to shape many societies today. Visitors can expect a diverse programme of performances, installations, photography, theatre, and family activities.
At the heart of the Fiesta is the Ofrenda – a 40-square-metre altar lavishly decorated with flowers, candles, fruit, sweets, and traditional offerings for the deceased. Guests are invited to contribute their own mementos, allowing the altar to grow over the course of the festival.
Highlights include Tanja Watoro’s performance Journey to Mitclán, the photo exhibition Mariposa Monarca – A Butterfly as a Migrant, and the theatre piece StandBy – Until We Meet Again. Installations such as Album de Familia and Integration or Deportation? No, Mestizaje!! address migration, cultural identity, and the potential of hybridity as a form of coexistence.
Children and families are invited to take part in hands-on workshops and storytelling sessions exploring the meanings behind the Ofrenda. They can craft paper garlands, flowers, and traditional Pan de Muerto, and enjoy tales such as The Flight of the Monarch Butterfly / El vuelo de la mariposa.
Hartmut Dorgerloh, Director General of the Humboldt Forum, describes the event as “a profoundly emotional experience. It joyfully shows that the departed are never truly gone but remain part of our stories, memories, and kinship.”
Founded in 1995, Calaca e.V. is a Berlin-based collective that addresses issues such as migration, memory, and human rights from a Latin American-Berliner perspective. Through diverse artistic forms – theatre, music, visual arts, and performance – the collective creates spaces for respect, reflection, and solidarity.
The project forms part of the annual programme In Relation: Family, in which the four partners of the Humboldt Forum – the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Humboldt University of Berlin, and the Stadtmuseum Berlin – jointly explore familial relationships across time and cultures through exhibitions, artistic interventions, and participatory formats.
WHEN?
Opening: Friday, 31 October 2025, 7:15 pm
Event: 31 October – 2 November 2025
31 October: 7:15 pm – 1:30 am (Evening ticket)
1. November: 10:30 am – 6:30 pm (Day ticket) / 7:15 pm – 1:30 am (Evening ticket)
2. November: 10:30 am – 6:30 pm (Day ticket)
Admission: €7 / €3.50 reduced
Last admission: 5:00 pm (day) / 11:30 pm (evening)
WHERE?
Humboldt Forum
Schloßplatz
10178 Berlin
