Mexican Feast of the Dead in Berlin-Luebars on 22 and 23 November

The parish of Berlin – Luebars invites you to get to know the traditions surrounding the “Mexican Festival of the Dead” on the weekend of Eternity Sunday 2024 and gain inspiration for dealing with death and mourning. For that purpose we offer a wide-ranging program on 22nd and 23rd of November.

On Friday, November 22 at 6 p.m., Pastor Ute Sauerbrey will open the festival in the village church of Luebars with a devotion entitled “Of Dreams and Tears”. It is already clear here that joy and sadness are closely interwoven on “Día de los Muertos” – which may be an unfamiliar feeling for some people, as death is usually repressed in our culture. Artist Felix Pestemer then provides an initial insight into how transience is dealt with in Mexico with a comic reading from his graphic novel “Der Staub der Ahnen” (‘The dust of the ancestors’). In this story the living and the dead of a Mexican family coexist each in their worlds – until they overlap on the feast on Day of the Dead. Cantor Martin Blaschke will accompany the reading on the organ.

On Saturday, November 23, the Luebars parish hall will open its doors from 10 a.m. Visitors can visit our large “ofrenda” – an opulent altar for the dead on which all guests can decorate a niche. For that purpose you can bring a photo of a deceased relative or friend and something they particularly liked. Or even the deceased’s favorite food for the communal “meal of the dead” at lunchtime. If that’s too much for you, just drop by and enjoy a few Mexican snacks. Perhaps listen to the lecture on the “Day of the Dead in Mexico” by art historian and grief counselor Dr. Claus Maywald. Or you just take a look at the accompanying exhibition. On display are the results of artistic workshops on the subject “Colourful Death” with children and young people, as well as a series of surprising objects by Joanna Cotreanti, Bettina Holzapfel-Greven and Felix Pestemer. In addition, workshops for young and old invite you to make Cempasúchil flowers of the dead or paint clay skulls. Or get your make-up done in the style of the decadent skeleton lady “Catrina” at “Sweet Skulls”.

At 5 p.m., the Luebars Festival of the Dead comes to a close with a concert by the German-Mexican band “Cuarteto los Claveles” in the village church with singer Alejandra Ayala, Alejandro Castellanos on guitar, Doris Kulossa-Delfino on guitar and alto flute and Riccardo Delfino on the harp. The lyrics of Mexican folk songs and modern ballads, mariachi music and ancient Aztec poems are recited and interpreted by actor Frank Streffing.

“The Mexican festival of the dead”
Village church and parish hall Luebars
November 22 and 23, 2024

Registrations for the “Feast of the Dead” at:
kirche-luebars@web.de

Luebars village church, Alt-Luebars 11, 13469 Berlin
Public transport: S1 Waidmannslust, Bus 222 Alt-Luebars

Luebars parish hall, Zabel-Krueger-Damm 115, 13469 Berlin
Public transportation: S1 Waidmannslust, Bus 222 Am Vierrutenberg

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