Wynwood is adding marigolds and candles to its murals this week. Starting Friday, more than a dozen neighborhood businesses will show ofrendas for Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead. The Wynwood Business Improvement District is running the trail, with the Consulate General of Mexico in Miami as a cultural partner.

Día de los Muertos is celebrated around Nov. 1 and 2. Families build ofrendas with photos, candles, flowers and favorite foods to remember people who have died. In Wynwood, many altars honor famous artists and musicians.

Who's being honored

Día de los Muertos ofrenda in Coyoacán, Mexico City, 2019. NOT in Wynwood. CC BY-SA requires share-alike. Photo date: 2019-10-31.
Día de los Muertos ofrenda in Coyoacán, Mexico City, 2019. Source

Here are some of the stops on the BID's official trail list:

  • Morelia Paletas, 185 NW 25th St.: The Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz
  • Moxy Miami Wynwood, 255 NW 25th St.: Remembering Selena
  • Cotidiano, 66 NW 22nd St.: A tribute to Juan Gabriel
  • 27 Club Coffee, 50 NW 24th St., Unit 102: A tribute to Jimi Hendrix
  • Auratherapy, 230 NW 25th St.: Frida Kahlo and the seven chakras
  • Benito Juárez, 295 NW 27th St.: The restaurant's namesake, the 19th-century Mexican president
  • Cha Cha Chá, 2637 N. Miami Ave.: Legends of Mexico in art and music
  • Museum of Graffiti, 276 NW 26th St.: Graffiti artists
  • Jajaja Mexicana, 2775 NW Third Ave.: Night of the Skulls

Pets get altars too. COYO Taco, on Northwest Second Avenue near 23rd Street, honors beloved pets. SPAW, at 95 NW 29th St., remembers a pet named Major. Wynwood Dog Food Co., 2561 N. Miami Ave., dedicates its altar to dogs.

The list also includes Häagen-Dazs at 50 NW 24th St., which honors Reuben and Rose, plus Paradox Museum, Wynwood Shop, KYU, Bakan and the BID's own stop at 118 NW 25th St., which features Mexican artists.

How to do the walk

Most stops sit between Northwest 22nd and 29th streets, from North Miami Avenue west to Northwest Third Avenue, so you can see several in an hour on foot. RSVP on the BID's Eventbrite page. It's free and doesn't reserve a tour time.

Because the altars are inside restaurants, cafes and shops, check a stop's hours before you go. It's an easy add-on to a meal or a mural walk. Miami-Dade residents can also get into Wynwood Walls for free.

Halloween weekend overlaps with the trail's first days. HalloWYN takes over Wynwood Marketplace on Saturday night. Our Halloween guide has the details, and our story on James Beard's Taste America dinner covers another Wynwood food night this week.

Painted wall in Wynwood, Miami
Street art in Wynwood in 2015. Source