Tens of thousands gather at Hollywood Forever for Día de los Muertos

Hollywood Forever Cemetery held its 27th annual Día de los Muertos celebration on Saturday, Oct. 24, drawing tens of thousands of people, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Times calls it the largest celebration of the holiday anywhere outside of Mexico.

This year's celebration

The theme was "All Under One Sky / Bajo un Mismo Cielo." According to the event's announced lineup:

• Nearly 300 folklórico and Aztec dancers, and more than 70 community-made altars and ofrendas, with altar and costume competitions.
• A one-day exhibition inside the Cathedral Mausoleum, curated by LA artist and educator Nery Gabriel Lemus, with work by 12 artists.
• A new stage for bilingual theater, puppetry and outdoor cinema, with a visual concept by Willie Herrón, co-founder of the East LA Chicano art collective ASCO.
• A Children's Plaza with bilingual books and storytelling, and live music headlined by DannyLux.

A tradition with LA roots

The Times notes that the modern public celebration of the holiday in Los Angeles was pioneered by the Eastside nonprofit Self Help Graphics & Art, which held its first public Día de los Muertos event in 1972. While the holiday is traditionally observed on Nov. 1 and 2, celebrations across Southern California now start in early October.

Our take

Hollywood Forever is the biggest gathering, but it's far from the only one. Neighborhood ofrendas at schools, cafés and community centers carry the same tradition on a smaller scale. If your block had one this year, share a photo or a memory on the community board.

Sources

• Los Angeles Times / De Los: At the Hollywood Forever Día de los Muertos, families carry on an L.A. tradition
• That's It LA: 27th Annual Día de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever

File photo: a Día de los Muertos altar by Joey Zanotti, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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LA This Weekend Team