WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A longtime organizer of Lake Worth Beach’s Día de Muertos festival is bringing the celebration to West Palm Beach this weekend after this year's Lake Worth Beach event was canceled.
Local artist and educator Jose R. Mendez will host Día de Muertos at The Peach on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at The Peach arts collective, 3950 Georgia Ave. Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.
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Mendez co-founded the original Día de Muertos celebration in Lake Worth Beach in 2016 and helped develop and coordinate the festival for years. He said he organized Saturday’s independent event because he did not want the local tradition to disappear.
"I do not want to see a tradition that I helped create, that has become so meaningful to our community, come to an end," Mendez said.
This year's celebration also carries a personal significance for Mendez. His father, Juan J. Mendez, recently died in Guatemala.
"Part of the reason I moved forward with this was to honor my dad, who passed away a couple of weeks ago," Mendez said. "He was big on culture."
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What to expect
Saturday’s celebration will feature traditional Día de Muertos ofrendas, or altars, along with local artisan vendors, face painting, outdoor art installations and a children’s activity zone presented by Raices Creative Arts Academy.
The entertainment lineup includes Mariachi De Mi Tierra Internacional, vocalist Emmanuel Gonzalez, a Selena tribute by Liz Ramirez and a performance by Latinos A Bailar, a dance group from John I. Leonard High School.
Catrin and Catrina costume contests will also be held for adults, children and pets. Food and drinks will be available from El Segundo, the restaurant located at The Peach.
Organizers say this year’s event will be smaller than previous celebrations in Lake Worth Beach, which attracted as many as 6,000 people.
"I'm not the kind of guy that likes to scale back," Mendez said. "But I believe bringing even one-quarter of our audience to a new location would be a significant step toward keeping this tradition alive."
Mendez helped coordinate Lake Worth Beach’s Día de Muertos celebrations from 2016 through 2024. His work has focused on public art, cultural research and creating opportunities for people of different ages to participate in the arts.
Organizers said the goal of Saturday's event remains the same despite the new location: creating a place where families can celebrate and share cultural traditions across generations.
