Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, November 1, 2026 – The city has unveiled 18 new murals at the 5 de Diciembre cemetery for Día de Muertos, expanding an original plan for ten.
Local artists created the artwork along the cemetery’s perimeter walls, and the city inaugurated it as part of the Recuérdame 2026 festival. The municipality announced the completed project Sunday, following an inauguration scheduled for Friday, October 30.
According to the municipal announcement, Ricardo Martínez Andrade, director of the Instituto Vallartense de Cultura, said the original selection process was expanded after organizers received more strong proposals than anticipated.
The additional eight murals significantly expand a project designed to bring locally produced artwork into one of Puerto Vallarta’s traditional places of remembrance.
But for residents of 5 de Diciembre and families who regularly visit the cemetery, a natural question is whether the new artwork is simply decoration for Día de Muertos or something the neighborhood will keep.
The city’s original plans point toward a lasting installation.
In its official call for artists, the Instituto Vallartense de Cultura described the murals as a “permanent and free” public art exhibition. Unlike the temporary altars, performances and other installations associated with the holiday, the cemetery paintings were conceived as an ongoing part of the neighborhood’s public space.
The original project called for ten murals, each approximately four meters long and three meters high. Artists were asked to develop designs inspired by Día de Muertos while incorporating recognizable elements of Puerto Vallarta, including local traditions, historical figures, plants, animals, and cultural identity.
The participating artists include Gabriela de Jesús Lara, David Salas Antúnez, Pía Malinali Rivera, Jorge Enríquez, also known as N’Ríquez, and Alejandro Packtoer.
During the inauguration, Councilwoman Laurel Carrillo Ventura, who chairs the municipal Culture and Cultural Rights Commission, recognized the work involved in producing the murals and emphasized the role of artistic expression in the city’s historic public spaces. The municipality also presented recognitions to participating artists.
The project provides a paid opportunity for local creators rather than relying entirely on volunteer artwork.
Under the original terms, selected artists were offered 7,000 pesos per completed mural, plus applicable value-added tax. The culture institute also agreed to provide basic materials, including paint, brushes, and rollers.
The municipal announcement did not specify whether the same payment arrangements applied to all eight additional works or disclose the expanded project’s final cost.
The initiative also builds on an earlier effort at the same cemetery. In November 2025, eight local artists participated in a similar mural project. The work involved cooperation among artists, neighborhood residents, market vendors, and cultural officials.
That neighborhood connection is particularly relevant at the 5 de Diciembre cemetery.
Located near the traditional Mercado 5 de Diciembre, the cemetery occupies an established part of the city’s urban landscape. Its history stretches back to the period when Puerto Vallarta’s earlier burial ground, located in what is now Parque Hidalgo, was replaced by the cemetery in 5 de Diciembre.
As historical reporting on the cemetery has documented, generations of local families and people involved in the city’s development are buried there.
For those families, Día de Muertos remains a time to visit graves, bring flowers, and remember relatives. The murals add a public artistic element to that tradition without replacing the cemetery’s primary purpose.
The installation also comes during one of the busiest periods of the year for municipal cemeteries. As Vallarta Daily previously reported, the city registered 109 cemetery vendor stalls for the November 1 and 2 observances, when families and visitors gather throughout Puerto Vallarta’s burial grounds.
The murals form part of a wider cultural program that includes public altars, performances and theatrical cemetery tours. The official Día de Muertos festival program also includes activities at Parque Hidalgo, the Malecón and other downtown locations.
For residents and foreign visitors interested in understanding the celebrations, the cemetery offers a different setting from the large Catrina installations and waterfront entertainment. It remains an active place of family remembrance, with artwork designed specifically for its surroundings.
The project’s longer-term value will depend partly on how the outdoor paintings are maintained and whether they remain accessible as intended.
For now, the result is clear. What began as an invitation to ten artists has produced 18 new murals along the walls of the 5 de Diciembre cemetery, with the municipality planning to keep the artwork on public display long after this year’s Día de Muertos celebrations end.
