From Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 November, The Vaults in London’s Waterloo will be transformed into a den of Mexican festivities with three nights of live music and live art, hedonistic performance, street food and tequila, showcasing the best of Modern Mexican culture and the tastiest of Mexican bites, while a free-to-enter market outside will offer pre-fiesta delights for guests to explore before they head inside.
The Leake Street Tunnel market kicks off the celebrations on Thursday from 18.00. Both fiesta ticket holders as well as members of the public will be able to access the market, where they will be treated to street food from the likes of Patty & Bun, Bob’s Lobster and Annie Mae’s Mac & Cheese serving their signature dishes with a Mexican twist, as well as Mexican favourites from Wahaca and DF/Mexico. Smaller street food traders will offer traditional treats of pan de muerto and hot chocolate. The market will be open until 22.00 each day, encouraging visitors to get into the fiesta vibe with a face-painting station offering traditional Calavera skull designs, a dressing up area as well as wrestling and Mexican music.
From 20.00 each evening, the immersive Dia de Muertos procession of performers and dancers will lead guests from the market and through to The Vaults where the real fiesta will begin. Live music from electro-Mexican DJ’s will set the scene for a Grave Rave in one corner, while around another turn, guests will be confronted with masked Mexican wrestlers performing on a live Lucha Libre stage. Paying homage to the festival’s heritage, the Tunnel of Remembrance will celebrate the lives of icons like David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, and other great souls that have left us this year. Life-drawing, poetry and artwork will submerge guests into the culture of the country and its favourite festival as Latin-punk, Afro-Mexican and indie mambo bands perform until the early morning. Confirmed acts include Centravrvs, The Indios, Orkesta Mendoza, and Family Atlantica. Heading into the night, DJs from The UK and Mexico will keep the party alive. Fuelling the dancing, mezcaleria and tequila bars across The Vaults will ensure the 100% artisan agave spirits are flowing, while the Wahaca and DF/Mexico stalls will serve up tacos, tortillas and other Mexican street food staples for those after further sustenance.
For the ultimate foodie experience, Wahaca Co-Founder Thomasina Miers and Mexican chef Santiago Lastra Rodriguez will host a set course dinner on each of the evenings from 18.30pm, with tickets including entry to the fiesta afterwards. The meal will combine the best of Mexican and Latin American cuisine, with Lastra showcasing the skills he has acquired working in kitchens across the world, notably in Mexico City and Copenhagen. There will be a limited number of spaces available.
Tickets for Wahaca’s Day of the Dead fiesta go on sale from today and will be available to buy via: www.WahacaDOTD.co.uk
Ticket prices:
£15 – Super Early Bird
£20 – Early Bird
£25 – Regular tickets
Wahaca presents Day of the Dead, The Vaults, Leake Street, Waterloo, London SE1 7NN, Thursday-Friday: 18 – 22.00 and Saturday: 12noon – 22.00.
The Vaults fiesta hours: 22.00 – 2.00.
