Muertos Fest Opens at Hemisfair Today — San Antonio's Día de los Muertos Weekend Guide
The 14th annual Muertos Fest runs Friday through Sunday at Hemisfair — free, with more than 50 performances, scores of community altars, and Friday night's illuminated River Parade. Here is the weekend, hour by hour.
San Antonio's biggest Día de los Muertos celebration opens today. The 14th annual Muertos Fest takes over Hemisfair from Friday through Sunday, October 23–25 — and admission is free. The festival is built around remembrance: families and artists have created dozens of community altars honoring loved ones who have died, alongside live music, dance, poetry and food across five stages.
Music runs all weekend — more than 50 performances spanning Tejano, conjunto, cumbia, rock and mariachi, with Tejano icon Michael Salgado, San Antonio cumbia-pop artist Vanita Leo, Sunny Ozuna and LA 45 among the featured acts. This year's festival also honors Texas-Mexican music pioneer Lydia Mendoza with a special altar created by students from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. The Muertos Mercado brings more than 75 art and craft vendors, and the Day of the Dead Bookstore returns with the festival's 2026 nonprofit partner, Letras en la Frontera.
The hours: Friday 5 to 11 p.m. opens with ¡Presente! A Night to Remember, including sensory-friendly altar viewing from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday runs 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. with the Día de los Muertos procession at 7 p.m., and Sunday runs noon to 9 p.m. with a procession at 3 p.m. Friday night also brings the Day of the Dead River Parade — illuminated barges decked with altars and artwork moving through the River Walk at 7 p.m. — and La Villita's celebration in Maverick Plaza, with its towering 38.5-foot La Catrina and El Catrín figures, runs all three days. Historic Market Square hosts its own Día de los Muertos celebration Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with community altars, mariachi and the Las Monas cultural dance procession at 1 p.m. both days.
Practical notes from the festival: it is held rain or shine; blankets are welcome but chairs and coolers are not permitted; food and drinks are sold on site. Downtown parking will be tight — organizers point visitors to VIA Metropolitan Transit, rideshare, and nearby garages. Hemisfair is dog-friendly, though owners are asked to think about whether their pets will be comfortable in a large, noisy crowd.
