Los Lobos have defined the East Los Angeles sonic landscape for nearly half a century, utilizing multicultural influences to give birth to and popularize their own unique sound | Photo credit: John Partipilo
ARLINGTON, VA — Día de los Muertos—Day of the Dead—has become a globally recognized Mexican tradition celebrated in Latino neighborhoods throughout the United States and by people of Mexican heritage everywhere. Traditionally observed on the first two days of November, Día de los Muertos sees families and friends paying their respects to deceased loved ones with colorful and festive gatherings filled with food, flowers, and warm remembrances rather than funereal mourning. In honor of this year’s celebration, DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS premieres Friday, October 28, 2022, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS Video app.
Taped before a live audience deep within the unique and beautiful “underworld” of The Caverns, a subterranean amphitheater in Middle Tennessee, the concert includes performances by the following artists:
LOS LOBOS – with their unique GRAMMY-winning amalgamation of rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros, and norteños, the East L.A. band formed almost 50 years ago has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards and made fans around the world.
OZOMATLI – this longtime Los Angeles-based band brings the evening’s energy up with their lively mash-up of salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap, and several types of Latin music: tropical genres like merengue and cumbia, Mexican styles like norteño and Jamaican ska and reggae, all mixed with a heavy dose of hip-hop and funk.
Photo: JOHN PARTIPILO
Ozomatli formed in Los Angeles in 1995 and achieved international success playing an urban-Latino-and-beyond collision of multiple genres. | Photo credit: John Partipilo
FLOR DE TOLOACHE – this Latin GRAMMY Award-winning, New York-based, all-female group combines old-style Mariachi with a modern edge. Featured on NPR and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Flor de Toloache’s distinctive sound is a fresh, genre-busting take on traditional Mexican music.
Latin GRAMMY Award-winning, New York-based, all-female group Flor de Toloache combines old-style Mariachi with a modern edge | Photo credit: John Partipilo
The audience is composed of Tennessee’s diverse Latino communities, many in skeleton makeup and traditional costumes, organized by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. The performances are intermixed with short vignettes produced by San Francisco filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor that illuminate the meaning of Día de los Muertos.
“This joyous new special is a great way to learn about and celebrate the rich Mexican observance of Día de los Muertos,” says Sandie Viquez Pedlow, executive director of Latino Public Broadcasting. “We’re delighted to partner with Todd Jarrell Productions to bring the amazing music of these exciting Latino artists to the PBS family.”
Dia de los Muertos on PBS
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DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, and VIZIO.
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS is produced by Todd Jarrell Productions, LLC in association with PBS and Latino Public Broadcasting. The executive producer is Todd Jarrell. The executive producer for LPB is Sandie Viquez Pedlow.
About Latino Public Broadcasting
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is the leader in the development, production, acquisition, and distribution of film and digital cultural media that is representative of Latino people or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public media entities. Providing a voice for the diverse Latino community throughout the United States, Latino Public Broadcasting is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. LPB also produces the acclaimed PBS documentary series VOCES, exploring the rich diversity of the Latino experience. VOCES presents new and established filmmakers and brings their powerful and illuminating stories to a national audience — on TV, online, and on the PBS app.
Between 2009 and 2022, LPB programs won over 130 awards, including three prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards as well as Emmys, Imagen Awards, and the Sundance Film Festival Award for Best Director, Documentary. LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries. Sandie Viquez Pedlow is the executive director of LPB; Edward James Olmos is the co-founder and chairman.
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