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PHOTOS: Carbondale’s 21st Día de los Muertos celebration

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Julianna O’Clair

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The Día de los Muertos procession on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 began with a person dressed as a monarch butterfly. The fluttering wings of monarchs that migrate to Mexico in late October and early November are believed to carry the spirits of ancestors.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent

Carbondale Arts hosted its 21st Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebration as part of First Friday on Nov. 7. Día de los Muertos is a fiesta honoring the dead that is traditionally celebrated in Mexico and other parts of Latin America on Nov. 1 and 2. Carbondale’s celebration featured live music, food trucks, face painting, a procession and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklórico’s last Día de los Muertos performance.

Lights shaped like marigolds, the ceremonial Día de los Muertos flowers, are wrapped around trees in downtown Carbondale on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent
A community ofrenda, or altar, honoring deceased loved ones is displayed outside the Launchpad in Carbondale on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent
First Friday attendees wrote messages to their loved ones on a paper tablecloth adorned with candles, marigolds and oranges during Carbondale’s Día de los Muertos celebration on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent
Live performances on a stage in the plaza entertained audiences before the iconic procession on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent
A First Friday attendee reads messages to loved ones written in marker on a paper table cloth on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent
This year’s community ofrenda featured dozens of candles, photos and trinkets placed outside Carbondale’s Launchpad to honor loved ones.
Julianna O’Clair/ Post Independent

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