DENVER — It was a busy Tuesday for cosmetology students at Emily Griffith Technical College as they prepared for Denver's first-ever Día de Muertos parade and festival.
Instructor Lisa Cruz said her students will be doing the makeup for several people who will be walking in the parade.
“It’s something that is going to be so huge,” Cruz said. “I think we don’t even know how huge it’s going to be or how big it’s going to be. It’s the impact of seeing the students get excited for it.”
Cruz said being part of the parade gives her students the opportunity to practice their skills while working one-on-one with clients.
“This gives them the opportunity to see what type of area of focus they want to go into,” Cruz said. “Do they want to go into makeup? Do they want to go into nails? Do they want to go into hair? It gives them the soft skill as well as the technical skill to get behind there and really get some grounding."
Denver’s Día de Muertos parade is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It’ll begin at Seventh Avenue and Santa Fe Drive and will end at 13th Street and Mariposa.
The Día de Muertos festival is from noon to 8 p.m. at Civic Center Park. Cosmetology students will have a face painting booth set up. There will also be food vendors, games and live music.
“I think this one is really going to be the biggest event from what I have seen put together,” Cruz said. “Seeing all the behind-the-scenes stuff that has been happening. The floats that are being made. People that are coming in from different parts of Mexico that are walking in the parade.”
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