On Tuesday 2 November Assen will celebrate the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos. This is because of the exhibition Viva la Frida! of the Mexican artist and icon Frida Kahlo in the Drents Museum. A festive procession with music, dance and theatre will pass through the town centre between 16:30 and 17:30. The route starts at DNK (De Nieuwe Kolk) and ends at the Brink in Assen, where the striking commemorative altars with cheerful skulls and skeletons made by the pupils of secondary school CS Vincent van Gogh can be seen. Would you like to join the parade? You can! Come to the entrance of DNK on 2 November at 16.00 and put on your most colourful Día de Muertos outfit.
In Mexico, the Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, is a festive occasion. On this day, Tuesday 2 November, the dead are honoured and life is celebrated. Because of the important role of Mexican culture in the work and life of Frida Kahlo, the Drents Museum is organising this parade in collaboration with the cultural partners and Vaart in Assen. A festive procession with floats, dancers, artists, music and theatre will pass through the town centre.
Parade
Everyone is welcome to join the parade. Residents can gather at 16:00 in front of the entrance to DNK. We invite everyone to put on a colourful Día de Muertos outfit and wear a decorated mask during the parade. Here you will find different masks that you can print out and decorate yourself at home. The masks have been developed by Pirmin Rengers in cooperation with ICO, Partner in Kunst & Cultuur.
Click on the image to download the masks.
At 16:30 the parade will leave DNK via Weierspoort to Koopmansplein and then via the Gedempte Singel to Noordersingel, ending on the Brink.
Route parade door de stad (klik op de afbeelding om deze te vergroten)
Skulls and ofrendas
From 2 to 14 November the colourful ofrendas with the cheerful skulls and skeletons, made by the pupils of secondary school Vincent van Gogh, can be seen on the Brink in Assen. Under the guidance of art and culture coordinator Karin Kingma, the pupils of CS Vincent van Gogh have been preparing for Día de Muertos for months. Karin Kingma: 'At the moment, everything in our art courses is about Frida. Pupils from class 1 to the exam class are making original skulls, corsets and altars. The pupils are very proud that their works of art are being presented on the Brink.’