Family members held a funeral Wednesday for Axel Acosta Avila, a Western Washington University student from Tieton who died Nov. 5 at the Astroworld Festival in Houston.
The service was held at Highland Community Church in Cowiche, Yakima County. Dozens of family members and friends gathered to remember the young man, who had just turned 21 when he died. While most dressed in black, several wore bright colors to celebrate his life, as one of his family members requested on social media ahead of the service.
Acosta Avila’s uncle, Tomas Acosta, officiated the bilingual service. He became choked up several times as he described his nephew, whom the family often called Antonio after his grandfather.
He remembered Acosta Avila as a loving, family-oriented young man who spent his free time building computers, cooking, and playing with his young nieces and nephews.
Clad in bright yellow and purple, Avila Acosta’s grandmother performed a dance in celebration of his life.
Tomas Acosta said that the family is finding strength through their faith.
He also thanked all those who had donated to the family’s GoFundMe, which was set up to help with funeral costs, as well as those who kept Acosta Avila in their prayers.
“We share love with the other families that had to go through this,” he said. “Our prayers are with them.”
Acosta Avila was born in Stockton, California, and grew up in Tieton. He was a junior at Western Washington University, where he studied computer science. He traveled to Houston to see rapper Travis Scott in concert at the Astroworld Festival, where he became one of 10 victims to die in a crowd rush.
His family joined over 100 other plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the festival’s organizers that collectively seeks over $750 million, CNN reports.
Acosta Avila was laid to rest at Terrace Heights Memorial Park.