Mundo Latino returns to the State Fair of Texas this fall marking 30 years of celebrating Hispanic culture in Dallas, a milestone its founder helped plan before his death earlier this year. Rafael Luna, who organized the exhibition and dedicated nearly three decades to it, died in January at age 67. This year's anniversary presentation carries out the ideas he discussed with his family before he passed.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Mundo Latino will celebrate its 30th anniversary at the 2026 State Fair with an exhibition revisiting its history, past themes and the contributions of both Luna and Cindy Benavides, who first envisioned the project before Luna joined her in developing it. Luna's surviving relatives implemented the plans he left behind, and his daughter Erica Luna told the paper he had readied them for the task. “He had prepared us for all of this,” she said, per the same account.
The exhibit is moving into a new home this year. Per Big Tex, Mundo Latino: Día de los Muertos will be presented in the Hall of State during the 2026 State Fair of Texas, after previously being housed in the Women's Museum. That relocation actually began in 2025, when the exhibit first moved from the Women's Museum to the Hall of State, according to CultureMap Dallas. Sponsorship of the current presentation comes from the Law Offices of Domingo Garcia, per Big Tex.
A Retrospective Built From Three Decades of History
The 2026 anniversary display will include photographs and material from Mundo Latino's previous exhibitions, highlighting Luna and Benavides' legacy, the Dallas Morning News reports. The exhibit will also include an altar where visitors can leave photographs honoring deceased relatives, friends and others connected to Mundo Latino over the years. Luna wanted the exhibition to represent more than Mexico, hoping visitors would come away understanding the breadth of Latino identity, according to the outlet's reporting.
That vision has shown up in the exhibit's programming for years. Mundo Latino has featured performances, a Mercado, textiles and a photo exhibit, according to Mundo Latino Events. In 2024, the exhibition included artwork, altars, Catrinas and displays exploring Latino culture and traditions, and in 2021 it featured a Día de los Muertos main exhibit hall inside the Women's Building at the fair, both per the Dallas Morning News.
Axolotls, a Mercado and a Focus on Día de los Muertos
This year's exhibit will continue its focus on Día de los Muertos traditions and will feature the axolotl, a culturally significant amphibian native to Mexico, the Dallas Morning News reports. The Mercado, which features vendors and Latino-owned businesses, is also expected to return. The broader Día de los Muertos presentation will also be part of the fair's offerings, according to Big Tex.
Earlier iterations of the exhibit included live painting. At the 2022 State Fair, Mundo Latino presented a Día de los Muertos experience featuring art installations and live painting, according to Focus Daily News. Mundo Latino has presented the exhibit at the State Fair in earlier years.
Family Carries the Vision Forward
Erica Luna said the family aims to incorporate community representation as it continues her father's work, and that planning for the exhibit begins almost immediately after each fair ends, according to the Dallas Morning News. Luna was described in that reporting as a prominent advocate for Latino arts and culture in North Texas, someone who saw Mundo Latino as a space where visitors could encounter Latino history, traditions, artwork and contemporary culture side by side. With this year's 30th-anniversary presentation, that space returns to Fair Park carrying his final plans forward.
