Join us for Dia de Muertos

Thursday, October 30, 2025 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

• In-person event
• Atrium, Nideyinàn, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

• Contact
• culanguages@carleton.ca, culanguages@carleton.ca

Join us as we celebrate this year’s Day of the Dead with the unveiling of an altar created in remembrance of members of the Filipino community killed at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Festival earlier this year.  

In a tradition that brings together pre-Columbian Aztec customs with Spanish Catholic influences, the altar (also called “ofrenda”) plays a central role in commemorating a particular person or group of people and this year we have chosen, in consultation with the Carleton University Filipino Students’ Association (CUFSA), to dedicate our altar to the eleven people killed in the April 26th tragedy.  Our thoughts are with the community.  

The altar was designed and created by Fernando Trigo Bilbao and his students at Modern American School in Mexico City with input from the Embassy of Mexico and will be assembled by the group when they visit the Ottawa/Gatineau region in late October.  

The unveiling ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Nideyinàn Atrium and features speeches from the:

• Representative of Ambassador of Mexico

• Associate Director (Modern Languages) of the School of Linguistics & Language Studies

• Representative of Carleton University Student Association (CUSA)

A speech and dedication from members of Carleton University Filipino Students Association (CUFSA) will follow. 

After the official ceremony wraps up (approximately 11:00 a.m.), face painting and skull decorating activities will begin along with games and info tables for groups connected to Mexico, the Philippines, and Spanish language and culture.  Festivities will continue until 3:00 p.m.

We hope you will join us!

This event is a collaboration between the Embassy of Mexico, Modern American School in Mexico City, Carleton University, Carleton University Student Association (CUSA), Carleton University Filipino Student Association, and the School of Linguistics & Language Studies (SLALS).