Mariachi Real de Mexico is marking 35 years with a free Day of the Dead concert at Oak Ridge in Forest Park on Sunday, Nov. 1. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and the music starts at 3.

The band

Ramon Ponce and his son, Ramon Ponce Jr., founded Mariachi Real de Mexico in 1991. The group is celebrating its 35th year in 2026, and the Forest Park show is part of that anniversary.

More than a concert

The afternoon is built around Día de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday for remembering family and friends who have died. There will be a community ofrenda, the altar where people place photographs, flowers and offerings for the people they are honoring. Teaching artists from Queens College run face painting and crafts for children.

The concert runs from 3 to 4 p.m. It is free, and there is no registration listed.

Who is behind it

NYC Parks hosts the event at Oak Ridge in Forest Park. It is paid for with a grant from Flushing Town Hall and with support from the Forest Park Trust, Council Member Joann Ariola and State Senator Joe Addabbo.

Getting there

Oak Ridge is on Forest Park Drive in the Woodhaven section of Forest Park. The Q52 and Q53 Select Bus Service run along Woodhaven Boulevard on the park's western edge, and the J train stops at 85th Street-Forest Parkway at the park's southern side.

Arrive for the 2:30 p.m. doors on Sunday, Nov. 1, if you want time at the ofrenda and for the children's crafts before Mariachi Real de Mexico starts at 3.

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