10/16/2026
Since the beginning, the Día de los Mu***os Calenda has been about creating space for communities whose cultures deserve to be seen, honored, and celebrated in Santa Barbara. This year, that commitment feels extra special.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara is proud to welcome Los Diablos de la Costa, representing the Afro-Mexican and Afro-Indigenous communities of the coast of Oaxaca. For far too long, Black communities in Mexico have been overlooked and left unrecognized, both in Mexico and here in the U.S. Afro-Mexican families are an important part of our immigrant communities, and they deserve to be seen, celebrated, and recognized. Their dance is a living history and a profound act of memory, a reminder that Afro-Mexican roots are an essential part of Mexico’s history and identity.
As the dancers beautifully express:
“We gather today to speak of a deep heartbeat, of a zapateado that shakes the earth and awakens memory. To speak of the Danza de los Diablos is not only to speak of a traditional dance from our Coast of Oaxaca; it is to look history, survival, and the unbreakable spirit of a people who refuse to forget where they come from straight in the eye. Keeping the Danza de los Diablos alive is honoring our Black blood, which also built this nation. Every beat of the bote and every leap of La Minga and the Diablo Mayor remind us that our culture is more alive than ever. Long live the Coast of Oaxaca! Long live our Afro-Mexican communities and their eternal traditions, and long live our wonderful state of Oaxaca. Rujaaa!”
Join us on State Street, Santa Barbara for the Calenda on Sunday October 25th. All are welcome!
