Day of the Dead event at LULAC

FORT MADISON - Families are invited to celebrate Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, on November 1 at LAC/LULAC #304, 1424 36th St., Fort Madison. Doors open at noon, and families are welcome to bring or build ofrendas honoring loved ones who have died.
El Día de los Muertos has deep roots in Mexico’s Indigenous cultures and has evolved over centuries, incorporating Catholic observances introduced during Spanish colonization. The celebration brings families together to remember loved ones through stories, music, food and offerings. Ofrendas often feature photographs, personal mementos, candles, marigolds, favorite foods and pan de muerto, a traditional bread prepared for the occasion.
At 2 p.m., Alejandro Benavides, Ph.D., will present a talk about life in Fort Madison’s Mexican Village as families moved from railroad boxcars into more stable housing and established roots in the community. His presentation will explore the challenges these families faced amid war and the Great Depression, and how celebrations of Mexican Independence Day and El Día de los Muertos helped preserve cultural traditions, strengthen community ties and sustain pride during difficult times.
An educator, historian and author, Dr. Benavides earned his doctorate in education leadership from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His career has included service as a bilingual teacher, an Illinois State Board of Education bilingual specialist, a school administrator and superintendent of the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education in Chicago. Raised in Aurora, Illinois, near a Mexican railroad boxcar community, he brings both scholarship and personal experience to his work preserving Mexican American history. He also co-curated the National Museum of Mexican Art exhibition “Rieles y Raíces: Traqueros in Chicago and the Midwest,” exploring Mexican and Mexican American railroad workers and the communities they built.
Dr. Benavides’ dioramas will also be at the LAC/LULAC#304 on Sunday. Currently on display at the CB&Q Museum, the dioramas depict the original railroad-yard settlement and the dormitory housing built in the sloughs for the families of traqueros—the railroad track workers employed by the Santa Fe Railway.

Live music will feature RJ Hernandez, Andrea Hernandez-Mendez, Dominic Martinez and Greyson Garcia, a multigenerational group with family roots among the Village’s earliest residents.
The celebration offers an opportunity to honor loved ones, explore Fort Madison’s Mexican American history and share traditions across generations.
The third lecture by Dr. Benavides will also be held at LAC/LULAC #304 on December 12 in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It will focus on the Mexican Village and historical perspectives spanning the 1920s through the 1960s.
Special thanks go to Pam Lozano and her team for the decorations. Anyone interested in assisting with or contributing to the event is encouraged to contact Pam on Facebook.