San Bernardino County Museum Curator of History Michele Nielsen will host Dia de Los Muertos, an afternoon of remembrance and celebration of family, at Agua Mansa Cemetery in Colton on Friday, November 1, 2013 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This event, which honors the lives of those buried at the cemetery and those who have gone before, is included with paid admission to this historic site.
Participants will learn about the history of Agua Mansa Cemetery and the Agua Mansa community and can honor those buried at Agua Mansa, and their own loved ones by adding to the Dia de los Muertos community altare. Families are invited to clean and decorate the graves of their relatives.
A quartet from Ballet Folklorico Cultural will perform at 2:30 p.m. Visitors can bring lawn chairs for comfortable seating.
Agua Mansa and La Placita, across from each other along the Santa Ana River, were the first non-native settlements in the San Bernardino Valley. These villages were the largest settlement between New Mexico and Los Angeles during the 1840s. Agua Mansa flourished until January 1862, when a great flood destroyed it along with most of La Placita. The cemetery, California State Historical Landmark #121, is the resting place of many San Bernardino Valley pioneer families; the last burial in Agua Mansa Cemetery was in 1963.
Agua Mansa Cemetery is a historic site of the San Bernardino County Museum at 2001 W. Agua Mansa Road in Colton. Admission is $5 (adult), $4 senior or military, and $2.50 (Student/child). San Bernardino County Museum Association members and children under 5 are admitted free. For more information, please call or e-mail Michele Nielsen at 909.3798-8609, mnielsen@sbcm.sbcounty.gov. The site is open to the public on Fridays & the first Sunday each month from noon to 3 pm and Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm.
Agua Mansa Cemetery is accessible to persons with disabilities. If assistive listening devices or other auxiliary aids are needed in order to participate in museum exhibits or programs, requests should be made through Museum Visitor Services at least three business days prior to your visit. Visitor Services’ telephone number is 909-307-2669.