at 16th & Mission BART Plaza
Friday November 2nd, 2007
3:00-5:00 pm
Plaza 16, 16th Street BART Station,
16th and Mission Streets, San Francisco, CA 94110
Free and open to the public

San Francisco — The Mission Community Council is pleased to announce the Dia de los Muertos Celebration at Plaza 16, a free, public cultural event on Friday November 2nd, 2007, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. The event will take place at Plaza 16, the 16th Street BART Station’s southwest plaza, in the Mission District of San Francisco, CA.

Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a traditional celebration of Mexico where ancestors are remembered and honored. Highlights of the celebration at Plaza 16 are Aztec dancing, a community alter and mural, and healing arts performances. This celebration was developed as a collaborative effort of community members and organizations to be a free event for the community.

The public is invited to enjoy musical performances, participate in building the community alter, and learn about the rich culture of the Indigenous Mexico. The Mission Community Council has also invited various Mission District non-profit organizations to display information and resources that benefit the diverse population of the Mission district.

Performances by:

Mama Coatl/ Silvia Parra Percussion, Voice and Ritual “As a more recent immigrant from Mexico, MamaCoAtl has hit the ground running. She brings her bold feminist spirituality consciousness to our community events. She has broken performance boundaries in her unique way of exploring mixed-language usage (Spanish and English) and blurs the line between spoken word and song.” Nina Serrano, Poet.

The Marsh Youth Theater - provides youth ages 4-15 with a high quality theater arts experience integrating music, dance, drama, stagecraft and performance into one holistic program. Open to all young performers without audition and regardless of financial limitations, MYT exposes children to the vast world of multicultural arts by working with a diverse group of professional performing faculty. The Marsh develops new performance, providing artists with an intimate venue and an environment that encourages experimentation.

Barbara Heredia local activist, artist, musician, and native of Uruapan Michoacan, Mexico.

Nancy Esteva, Poems for our Dead People.

Mario Patiño Musica Andina. Music originating from natives of the Andes Mountains in Bolivia, Peru, and Columbia.

Information Tables from organizations like:

· Planned Parenthood Golden Gate - Planned Parenthood Golden Gate is a non-profit health organization that has been helping women, men and teens make responsible choices for 83 years. Since 1923, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate has been committed to delivering the highest quality reproductive health care, teaching responsible and age-appropriate sexuality education and has been working diligently to protect a woman’s right to choose <http://www.ppgg.org/site/lookup.asp?c=esJMKZPKJtH&b=1185395> . Each year more than 65,000 women, men and teens visit Planned Parenthood Golden Gate’s eight health centers.

· Hermanos de Luna y Sol - Latino gay/bisexual men in the U.S. have been highly and disproportionately affected <http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/projects/HLS/hlsrisk.php> by the AIDS epidemic. The program “Hermanos de Luna y Sol” (HLS) was designed as a culturally-appropriate HIV risk-reduction intervention that targets immigrant, Spanish-speaking gay/bisexual men <http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/projects/HLS/hlstarget.php> in the San Francisco, CA Mission district.

· Movimiento Marcha Primero de Mayo” Amnistia Incondicional – movement for the amnesty of immigrant residents and workers.

· Movimiento Oaxaca – The movement in support of the people of Oaxaca.

· California Health Collaborative - To ensure that under served women 40 years and older are screened for breast cancer and women 25 years and older are screened for cervical cancer on a yearly basis. To decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with breast & cervical cancer by detecting the disease early.
· Mission Neighborhood Health Center - Mission Neighborhood Health Center dares to imagine a vision of equity, parity and inclusion of Latino Hispanics and their neighbors in the pursuit of culturally competent health care, proactive prevention education and universal access to well being for the emerging generations of the third millennium.

· The Marsh Youth Theater - provides youth ages 4-15 with a high quality theater arts experience integrating music, dance, drama, stagecraft and performance into one holistic program. Open to all young performers without audition and regardless of financial limitations, MYT exposes children to the vast world of multicultural arts by working with a diverse group of professional performing faculty. The Marsh develops new performance, providing artists with an intimate venue and an environment that encourages experimentation.

Dia de los Muertos celebration at Plaza 16 is organized by the Mission Community Council as a part of the Plaza 16 Project. The Mission Community Council is a collaborative network of over 35 Mission non–profit organizations, businesses, faith groups, and public departments committed to promoting the vitality of the Mission District. The project aims to create a safe and beautiful place by promoting community-oriented cultural activities. This past February, the group organized Love Your Mission Neighborhood Day a free community event featuring local break dancers, visual art, activities and community performances.

The event is free and open to the public. It is also wheelchair accessible.

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