"We want the public to laugh and perhaps cry but never abhor."
That line comes from the 2026 float application for the South Valley Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade. The organizers at Muertos y Marigolds credit the parade's spirit to José Guadalupe Posada's early 1900s calaveras, the laughing skeletons he drew of rich and poor alike, often with a streak of political satire. This year is the 34th parade. It happens on one afternoon only: Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Old Town's celebration works on a different schedule. It runs from October 30 to November 8, and most of what it offers is available every day of that stretch. So the planning comes down to one thing. The parade is the fixed point, and Old Town's ten days can fit around it.
Noon on Sunday, Nov. 1
The parade starts at noon. A celebration follows from noon to 4 p.m. at Westside Community Center, 1250 Isleta Blvd SW. This year's theme is "Cómete el patriarcado: Feed our future." The organizers describe the event as grassroots and non-corporate. Their stated mission is cultural self-determination and pride in South Valley identity, passed between generations through art, music, food, dance and satire.
The participant rules tell you what the parade will look like:
- Parade entries can come from schools, nonprofits, individuals and small groups. For-profit businesses and political parties can't enter.
- Every group has to carry marigolds, whether real, paper or synthetic. Every member has to be masked or painted as a calavera. Halloween costumes, clowns, bloody masks, Lloronas and evil spirits aren't allowed.
- Car clubs can bring five cars each. Floats can be up to 21 feet long, 12 feet high and 12 feet wide.
- Participants line up at the staging area at 10 a.m., and the parade leaves "promptly" at noon. The organizers call it a family event and ask everyone to come sober.
The application asks participants whose cars aren't in the parade to carpool or get dropped off at staging. That request is aimed at people marching, not watching. Still, it says something about parking near the start. The 2026 application doesn't list a street route or a staging address, so check muertosymarigolds.org for those before the day.
The group's website puts the yearly cost of the parade, celebration, ofrenda exhibit and workshops at about $12,000. It also says in-kind support has shrunk in recent years because of budget cuts at the state and other agencies. Bernalillo County still provides in-kind help. Donations go through the site's Support link.
Old Town is set up to be repeated
The parade happens once. Old Town's version is built so you can come back. The daily features run all ten days. There are more than 30 ofrendas tucked into patios, portals and shops, and a community ofrenda in the gazebo decorated by students from San Felipe de Neri Catholic School and Escuela del Sol Montessori. The Marigold Mile hangs more than 15,000 feet of marigold garland from vigas, beams and lights around the historic district. The papier-mâché sculptures by JOMO, the artists whose work also shows at Doublecat Oddities in the Plazuela Sombra patio, stay on the plaza the whole time. La Catrina, the Tree of Life and El Xolo Dog are returning, and a new piece will be unveiled this year.
The headline events fall on specific days, and only one of them shares a date with the parade:
| Date |
Old Town programming |
| Sat., Oct. 31 |
Family Day: new sculpture unveiled, Coco in the church courtyard, face painting |
| Sun., Nov. 1 |
Classic truck show with marigolds and ofrendas, RC Globitos, setup for Plaza de los Recuerdos |
| Mon., Nov. 2 |
Plaza de los Recuerdos, folklórico, curandero blessing, candlelight walk |
| Tue., Nov. 3 to Thu., Nov. 5 |
Daily features only |
| Fri., Nov. 6 |
Tethered Globitos, Ballet Folklórico del Norte, outdoor Coco |
| Sat., Nov. 7 |
Family Day: streets closed, Ehecatl Aztec Dancers, Catrina Procession |
| Sun., Nov. 8 |
Matachines de Bernalillo after Mass, 79s Truck Club, Plaza Don Luis event |
Here's how Nov. 1 works. The parade and its celebration take up noon to 4 p.m. in the South Valley. Old Town's Sunday program is a truck show, RC Globitos and the setup for the next night. Old Town hasn't posted clock times for any of those yet, so check its page before deciding how to split the day. The ofrendas, sculptures and Marigold Mile will still be there on the days that follow.
Monday night is when the plaza fills
Plaza de los Recuerdos runs for two nights, November 1 and 2. During that time the community brings altars and ofrendas onto Old Town Plaza. Monday has the full program. Nearly 100 ofrendas fill the 325-year-old plaza, and the evening brings folklórico dance, a curandero's blessing of the ofrendas and a community candlelight walk. People are invited to stay among the altars afterward and share stories. The procession starts 30 minutes after sundown on November 2, and everyone is welcome.
To bring an ofrenda for someone you've lost, sign up on the Plaza de los Recuerdos page at recuerdos.albuquerqueoldtown.com. Old Town says spots are limited.
History & GHOST Tours of Old Town Albuquerque runs a guided "DEAD-icated" Day of the Dead tour on both nights. New Mexico Tourism lists it at $30 per person for all ages, 6 to 7:15 p.m., with advance purchase required.
Tuesday through Thursday, the Marigold Mile with nothing else scheduled
From November 3 to 5, Old Town's schedule lists only the daily features: the hidden ofrendas, the sculptures, the community ofrenda, the papel picado and the garland. No performances, processions or street closures are planned for those days. If you mostly want to see the 30-plus ofrendas around the side patios, these three weekdays are the only stretch with no headline event competing for the plaza.
The second weekend picks back up on Friday with tethered Globitos, the 20-foot model hot air balloons Old Town brings to the street and the church courtyard. On Saturday the streets close for the Catrina Procession, led by mariachi and a decorated lowrider, along with the Santísima/Poco a Poco event. On Sunday, Matachines de Bernalillo dance after Mass to close the ten days.
The Saturdays before, if you'd like to make something
Muertos y Marigolds runs a community workshop every Saturday leading up to the parade. Four are still ahead on the 2026 schedule:
- Oct. 10, Papel Picado, National Hispanic Cultural Center, noon to 3 p.m.
- Oct. 17, Mosaics, National Hispanic Cultural Center, noon to 3 p.m.
- Oct. 24, Screen Printing, Gutiérrez-Hubbell House, noon to 3 p.m.
- Oct. 31, Retablo, a separate workshop from Luminaria Art Studio at Artisan ABQ, 1 to 4 p.m.
The retablo date needs a quick check. Luminaria's own page says October 31, but its Eventbrite listing says Sunday, November 1, which would conflict with the parade. Confirm with the studio before you book. The earlier sessions at NHCC and Gutiérrez-Hubbell House included two rounds of papier-mâché and a poetry workshop. The poetry session was part of the "Ofrendas Comunitarias" exhibit opening on October 3.
What hasn't been posted yet
As of early October, Old Town's page still says the full schedule with times is "coming soon." Clock times for the Catrina Procession and the Globitos glow aren't listed yet. For now, Old Town points visitors to its 2023, 2024 and 2025 schedules and says the 2026 version will follow a similar structure. The parade route is also still unpublished. The dates below are already confirmed:
- Oct. 10, 17, 24: Saturday workshops
- Oct. 31: Old Town Family Day
- Nov. 1, noon: South Valley Marigold Parade, then the celebration until 4 p.m. at Westside Community Center
- Nov. 2, 30 minutes after sundown: Old Town candlelight walk through Plaza de los Recuerdos
- Nov. 8: Matachines de Bernalillo close the Old Town program
Debbie has seen a lot of New Mexico's traditions up close as a Taos native, and she's always glad to talk with neighbors about the places and gatherings that make Albuquerque home. If questions about your own property come up while you're planning your Día de los Muertos week, reach out to Debbie Friday Jagers. Let's Connect: request a free home valuation or consultation.
