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The Atlanta festival calendar has always been a packed one, before and after the pandemic.
When Hapeville City Councilor Chloe Alexander started putting together a Día de Muertos event three years ago, she wanted to make sure it stood out among the crowded slate of events across the metro.
That’s why it’s not a festival, but a celebration.
“Hapeville is a ‘Home for the Arts’ and one of my goals is to make that statement more than superficial,” she said this week. “It’s very trendy now to have arts events, but what we wanted the art to have a lasting impression beyond the date of the event. I wanted something that’s not only unique and authentic, but give people a sense of ownership that, ‘Hey, that happened in my town.’”
This weekend marks the third Hapeville Día de Muertos celebration and the second year of the city’s LatinX International Film Festival. This year’s selections of films come from acclaimed directors across Latin America, including Peru, Colombia, Chile and Venezuela. Curated by Atlanta-based filmmaker Jesus Andrés Lugo Gomez, the selections include critically acclaimed films that have been shown at both Sundance and Tribeca. Screenings are taking over the Academy Theatre on North Central Avenue starting at 5 and 8 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday.
The Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday (including a weather-permitting parade) and 5-9 p.m. on Halloween. This year’s event includes public art and an exhibition curated by a printmaker from El Paso, Marco Sánchez, as well as authentic food and music in the Hapeville Arts Alley and Jess Lucas Park.
Tickets are both the film festival and Día de Muertos are free and available on Eventbrite.
Both events go back to 2019 when Alexander started having conversations with her neighbors. Despite a large Hispanic population, there wasn’t any real large, authentic events that gave that community a sense of inclusion in Hapeville.
Día de Muertos, a recognizable holiday both inside and outside the local Hispanic community, seemed like a perfect fit.
“We tried to make it more of an immersive experience focused on participation versus buying goods,” Alexander said.
This year’s festival is supported by Fulton County Arts and Culture, the City of Hapeville and the Academy Theatre. Despite the pandemic, the event has continued to grow since 2019 and Alexander said the feedback she’s received every year is that attendees find the celebration unique and very special.
“It’s super exciting, super motivating,” Alexander said. “It sets the bar to continue to expand it but be very thoughtful in that expansion so it continues to be meaningful.”