The Wexner Center to host a Día de los Muertos event on Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. with music, dance, food, and a book launch for Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre’s new book “Call Me Iggy.” Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Starker

The Wexner Center for the Arts will host a celebration for Día de los Muertos — commonly known as “Day of the Dead” in English —  starting 4 p.m. Friday in collaboration with Ohio State’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Latinx Studies program.

According to the center’s website, the event will include a performative dance by Taco Reparations Brigade, a folkloric dance by students in Ohio State’s Department of Dance, food from two local businesses — Casa Karmelitas and Vainilla & Chocolate — and a book launch for local artists Rafael Rosado’s and Jorge Aguirre’s new graphic novel, titled “Call Me Iggy.” 

Set during the 2016 presidential election cycle, the book follows an Ohio-born Columbian high school student searching for his identity while struggling in his Spanish class, according to Macmillan Publishing’s website. 

Fernanda Díaz-Basteris, one of the event’s main organizers, said the tradition of celebrating Día de los Muertos has deep roots in Mesoamerican culture. 

“This day is important to all communities because we honor and celebrate the life of people that are no longer living, and it is not tied to any social class, or age or profession,” Díaz-Basteris, also an assistant professor of Latinx new media and ethnic studies, said. “It is just a celebration that happens in every single household.” 

Díaz-Basteris said Friday will mark the second time the center has hosted a Día de los Muertos event, having hosted a similar celebration in 2023 during which Paloma Martinez-Cruz, professor of Latino cultural and literary studies, presented her book, “Trust the Circle: The Resistance and Resilience of Rubén Castilla Herrerathe,” which chronicles the story of a Columbus activist who died in 2019. 

“This year, we are celebrating Rafael Rosal and Antony Pomales, who are providing comics for this event celebrating family members that are no longer with us,” Díaz-Basteris said. 

Rosado, a Columbus-based artist and co-author of “Call Me Iggy,” said his Columbian heritage is a critical component of his work.

“Culture and community is pretty important to my work,” Rosado said. “I actually think it’s become even more important working on ‘Call Me Iggy.’ I realized that it’s important to tell these stories because they’re being told, but they’re not reaching a wider audience like they should.” 

Rosado said the book is also based on the childhood experiences of his co-author, Aguirre.

“His parents are Colombian and moved to the States and, just like Iggy, his parents tried to give him an upbringing that did not separate him from his peers,” Rosado said. “And, just like Iggy, he had an epiphany later in his youth that he’d been missing out on this part of his identity.” 

Díaz-Basteris said the event is family-friendly, and she hopes people of all ages will come together to enjoy its various offerings.

“We envisioned this celebration as a partnership with community members that are not at Ohio State to extend the celebration to their families, coworkers and anyone that would like to enjoy a night at the [center],” Díaz-Basteris said.

Díaz-Basteris said events like this help establish a sense of belonging for the Midwest’s Latinx community to thrive. 

“In the Midwest, we constantly look at the East or West Coast[s] to their Latinx cultural production, but the reality is that the migration is extending to the Midwest, and there is a big local Latino population in the city right now,” Díaz-Basteris said. “We are trying to focus on us here, our placemaking as Latinos in Columbus, to create a way of thinking that stems from local production.”

According to Díaz-Basteris, free tickets for the event are available at the Wexner Center for the Arts’ front desk, as well as on its website.