We’ll begin the afternoon with story time in the children’s library, offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Then, we’ll follow-up with music and play, featuring Día de los Muertos and Halloween songs, led by music educator, Elba Pérez Becker. Lastly, we’ll wrap up the celebration with crafts in the Makerspace where participants will make papel picado, a traditional Mexican decorative banner made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper.

Maritza López Del Razo arrived in the Hudson Valley in 2017 and is originally from California’s San Joaquin Valley where she labored as the third generation of farmworkers. Books were her favorite pastime and refuge in middle school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s in Education (M.Ed.) from the University of California at Los Angeles. In California Maritza led successful literacy based after-school programs across multiple sites in the Greater Long Beach area. Today she lives in Poughkeepsie and works as a Bilingual Spanish Consultant and Cultural Educator. Maritza consults for local schools, school districts, public libraries, Vassar College and the community-based radio station – Radio Kingston.

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Elba Pérez Becker is originally from Mexico City (La gran Tenochtitlán) and has lived in the Hudson Valley since 2023. Trained in classical and jazz music from the INBA (Mexico), RCA, and TR (London), and mentored by Alejandro Varela, she has dedicated her life to music education and children’s emotional development. She studied Psychopedagogy (IMPO) and holds a diploma in Gestalt Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents (UNAM). With over 16 years of experience, she has worked with infants, children, and teachers in training. She currently lives in Kingston, collaborates with Radio Kingston, offers interactive classes and concerts, and participates in community projects in the area. She speaks Portuguese as a second language and plays piano, cello, guitar, ukulele, and sings.