Hundreds of people filled the McKay High School commons Saturday, Nov. 4, for a colorful tribute to Dia de Los Muertos.
The event, organized by Salem dance group Casa de Cultura Tlanese, featured dozens of performers from across the Mid-Willamette Valley, highlighting the diversity of dance styles and cultural traditions across Mexico.
A community ofrenda decorated with marigolds was filled with offerings for the dead and mementos to pay tribute.
The ofrenda at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Performers get the crowd out onto the dance floor at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Performers get the crowd out onto the dance floor at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Grupo Danza Azteca member and friend at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Attendees enjoy food at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A close up of some of the offerings left on the ofrenda at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Lindsey Perez finishes her makeup before taking the stage at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)People stop to place offerrings on the ofrenda at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Plates of birria await hungry attendees at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)An attendee at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Sophie, 10, and Lailia, 5, color sugar skulls at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Hailing from Woodburn, Ballet Folklorico dancers perform onstage at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Ballet Folklorico performers prepare to step onto the stage at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The appreciative crowd at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Ballet Folklorico performers onstage at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Hailing from Woodburn, Ballet Folklorico dancers perform onstage at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Gemandereida sings at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to the Salem Reporter)Rosalie Retes demonstrates traditional makeup style: the unpainted half represents life- and the painted half of the face represents death- at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Tierragua from Oaxaca performs La Danza de Piña at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Ballet Folklorico dancer brings out the machetes at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to the Salem Reporter)A Ballet Folklorico dancer at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Ballet Folklorico dancer brings out the machetes at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Ballet Folklorico dancers at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Ballet Folklorico dancer at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Ballet Folklorico dancers at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Dancers from La Danza de los Rubios del Rancho los Silva De Oregon perform a traditional routine at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A young dancer from La Danza de los Rubios del Rancho los Silva De Oregon performs a traditional routine at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A dancer from La Danza de los Rubios del Rancho los Silva De Oregon shows their intricate costume at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Mitzi Gonzalez, 16, tries out a sugar skull mask she made at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Young dancers help each other get ready backstage for their performance at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Abel Torres Barrera shows off his makeup and costume before taking the stage at the Dia de Los Muertos event at McKay High School on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to the Salem Reporter)
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
