DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Figge Art Museum brought back its 'Day of the Dead Family Fiesta' for the 15th year.
Music, dance, art and food were among the free Mexican celebration on Sunday, Oct. 16.
The Quad Cities Ballet Folkorico group - which is made primarily of middle school children - performed traditional dances outside.
For Itzel Gutierrez, dancing is a personal journey.
"It really makes me feel in contact with my culture and with what it means to be Mexican," Gutierrez said.
Family inspired her to join the group.
"I also follow in my cousin's footsteps," Gutierrez said. "I look up to her a lot. She started doing it, and then after awhile, I was like, I'm just going to do it."
Tomas Miranda got into dance at six years old.
"I really like to dance - it gets me away from everything," Miranda said. "And we learn about our Hispanic culture [and] why we do this."
Performances also took place indoors, with West Liberty High School's 'Los Cometas Mariachi' band playing music.
Museum leaders said they're proud to celebrate with the community.
"We get to celebrate our art, and the beautiful culture we have here in the Quad Cities," Figge Art Museum education programs coordinator Heather Aaronson said.
She added how the Day of the Dead is a holiday that can speak to everyone.
"Day of the Dead is special because I think it's a very human holiday," Aaronson said. "Everybody loses somebody - everybody has lost somebody. So this is just a different way to look at that loss, and to be able to tell stories and memories, and to share that."
Organizers said that in 2020-21, the fiesta was scaled back due to the pandemic, but they hope to bring back more activities in 2023 like face painting and hot cocoa.
Organizers said the event normally brings more than 4,000 visitors to the museum. For 2022, they had more than 1,000 visitors.