Courtesy La Familia From left: Bill Smith plays the electric guitar with Antonio Velez on acoustic guitar and Alicia Murray on drums as part of La Familia, founded by Smith and Velez. La Familia performs in Errington on Oct. 27.

Errington hall will be going from frightening to fiesta on Oct. 27 for their pre-Halloween bash, featuring Latin fiesta band La Familia in a Day of the Dead-themed event.

La Familia, based in Nanaimo, is a 10-piece band that performs Afro-latin music, including the rhythms of Cuba, Colombia, the Caribbean and Mexico, playing salsa, cumbia, samba, merengue and many other styles.

“The idea of La Familia is just to focus on the African American component and make people dance, all the originals that we play are rhythms that make people dance for sure,” said Antonio Velez who’s on guitar and lead vocals for the group.

This will be the first Day of the Dead-themed performance for the band, said Velez, adding that he’s excited to share this Mexican holiday.

Though related to Halloween in terms of the date (Day of the Dead is Nov. 1 and 2) and some of the content, the idea is very different, he explained.

Rather than dressing as ghouls to earn treats and trying to scare people, Day of the Dead is about reconnecting with relatives who have passed away and giving them the treats.

“The Day of the Dead… focuses on the belief that there is a window of time in which there is the possibility of connecting with those that are gone from this life,” said Velez.

“It’s when people go to the cemeteries and bring the favourite food and the favourite drinks, favourite music of the people that are gone and spend the night with them, eating, drinking, singing,” he explained.

This is influenced by ancient Mexican culture, he said, where people were not afraid of the dead, but instead sought to form a kinship with them.

“Talking about the dead or having fellowship with the dead is not something that you avoid… they learn to develop that kind of fellowship with the dead,” said Velez.

That leads to traditions like painting one’s face or body to look like a skull or skeleton (traditionally mostly for women).

Family’s will also have a shrine at their home, dedicated to their dead family, and include photos and paintings of the people, as well as their favourite food and drink, flowers, candles and more.

“It’s like a piece of art, each shrine,” said Velez. “Each family shrine is unique and has some unique features.”

Sharing culture is a part of what La Familia does, with the majority of its membership with no familial Latin American ties.

After La Familia formed about four years ago, the idea was to play the rhythms by the book, said Velez, but a shifting membership took a couple years to settle, and now the group has people from a variety of backgrounds that learn to perform the Afro-Latin styles, while lending a sort of fusion to the band’s sound, said Velez.

“The bass player, he’s playing rhythms and styles for the bass that you would never see in rock bands of blues bands,” Velez said as an example.

But he suggested the band is stronger for these diverse band members, as the challenge of learning these different styles is perhaps one reason they are sticking with the group.

“Right now, we have a membership that really reflects the name of the band,” he said. “We are very close… it’s a little bit of luck. For a band to really sound good, there has to be really good chemistry between the individuals, and that is happening in La Familia.”

The band performs at Errington War Memorial Hall (1390 Errington Rd.) on Oct. 7 starting at 8 p.m.

There will be a Day of the Dead costume them, and Velez said he expects some of his bandmates will take part as well. Tickets are $20 in stores at Cranky Dog in Parksville, Heaven on Earth Natural Foods in Qualicum Beach, the Errington General Store, and $22.50 online at erringtonhall.tickit.ca.