For 11 years, now, Pilsen's National Museum of Mexican Art has been inviting Chicago families to remember their departed loved ones.
"This is a large community event that the Museum hosts in order to celebrate one of Mexico's largest traditions, the Día de los Muertos celebration," said Mario Hernandez, the Museum's Associate Director of Education.
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives with a celebration. It has widely grown to places outside of Mexico, including in Chicago.
The celebration Saturday will include several live performances, including folkloric dance and musical numbers, as well as treats like pan de muerto, traditional Mexican sweet bread and hot chocolate and coffee.
"We try to recreate this large communal sense that you typically see in cities and towns and at cemeteries, specifically, during the tradition, where families can gather and share stories about their loved ones," Hernandez said.
The main event is an ofrenda, or altar, that will be projected onto the side of the Museum. Hernandez says they've received more than 500 submissions for photos of friends and family that will be illuminated for everyone to see.
He said during a time where much of Chicago's Mexican community is experiencing fear and uncertainty, celebrations that allow people to safely come together and honor beloved traditions is "crucial."
"Through events like this and people coming together, it's a special way to resist and to show that part of us that doesn't give up and that part of us that really doesn't show that fear," he said. "There are people that that really are willing to stand up for their communities and stand up for their people, and I think that going through with some of these events is a way to do that."
He said he hopes those who attend learn something new about the tradition and find comfort in the community, whether or not they're Mexican.
"I think that really kind of goes a long way, just talking to our neighbors, talking to people about their loved ones who passed away," he said. "You don't necessarily have to be a Mexicano or of Mexican descent to understand the tradition and to appreciate it because it's something we can really see ourselves in."
The NMMA's Día de los Muertos celebration takes place Saturday night.