DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

One of the great things about living in LA are the cultural events - especially when it's my own cultural heritage being explored. I like Halloween, but I've come to really love and appreciate Dio de los Muertos - something my family never celebrated, even though two of my uncles made custom grave stones for a living. However, we did often visit the graves of relatives and my parents would leave fresh flowers, clean the stone, trim any grass growing around it and share moments of reflection about the departed.





A brief history of Dia de los Muertos:

When: November 1st and 2nd (but of course the celebrations begin early)

Translated to English, this is "The Day of the Dead". It's not a morbid event, but rather a celebration for those loved ones who have passed away.

On Dia De Los Muertos, people prepare a feast with many of the favorite dishes of lost loved ones. Pan de Muertos or "Bread of the Dead" is a traditional bread which is baked and eaten during this celebration. Mementos are set out of favorite things of the the ones who have passed away.

Visiting the cemetery is a popular tradition. At the cemetery, the tomb or burial plot is decorated. The cemetery visit is spent in a picnic environment. The air is filled with music from Mariachi bands while the scent of a wide variety of foods wafts through the air.

Saturday I spent the first part of the day celebrating Dia de los Muertos downtown - first breakfast and then a short stroll down to Olivera Street where there were puppet shows - dancers - music - and decorated alters. Had a swell time, especially watching the little kids dance traditional Spanish dances in costume - so cute.







Later in the evening I went to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for their 7th annual Dia de los Muertos celebration. They also host the Cinespia summer screenings of classic films on the back lawn (lots of movie stars are buried there).


The cemetery was alive with heavily decorated gravesites - the smell of incense filled the air - there was live music and performances - Aztec dancers - Mexican food booths - bars (mucho tequila) - merchandise booths - and costumes of all kinds. There were lots of beautiful and elaborately decorated graves - and the families were there and sometimes answered questions about the loved one they were honoring - but mostly it was self-explanatory. I spoke with one guy whose alter had lots of Boston Red Sox items and several other things that his father loved - all placed on the alter in order to honor him. The decor was simple and sincere - one of my favorites. Oh, and there was a rock-n-roll alter too - with mini light-boxes depicting how the rock star died (Elvis, Morrison, Cobain, Vicious & Spungen - even Karen Carpenter).