#Dia de los muertos altar dates free#

have celebrated Dia de los Muertos for over 35 years - with the celebration evolving over the last three decades to incorporate the pre-Columbian, Aztec, Mayan and Catholic rituals honoring the dead. The merchants on Olvera Street in downtown L.A. Olvera Street's Novenario Procession takes place in El Pueblo Historic Monument every night at 7 p.m. Numerous other altars, produced by artists and community partners, will also be on display, while live poetry and musical performances entertain guests throughout the night.

#Dia de los muertos altar dates free#

This free event ( advance registrations encouraged) takes place at the Self Help Graphics headquarters at 1300 East 1st Street, where guests may contribute photos of their loved ones to the Community Altar. On November 2, the celebration kicks off with SHG's Noche de Ofrenda, or 'Night of Altars,' from 6:30 p.m. Perhaps the oldest Day of the Dead commemoration in the country ( 49 years and counting), Día de los Muertos at Self Help Graphics is also one of the largest … and longest! Involving over 50 community organizations, and attended by 10,000 people of all ages, this unique program extends into an entire season of activities. People march in a procession during Self-Help Graphics' 48th annual Dia de los Muertos celebration on Octoin Los Angeles, California. Whether it’s among the tombstones, in a traditional Mexican-American neighborhood, or at a cultural institution, here are the six best places in southern California to explore the rituals, flavors and decorations of this ancestral celebration. The annual celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery may be one of the largest and best-known in SoCal - or even the entire country - but there are plenty of other places to honor the dead throughout the Southland and beyond.

Given our proximity to Mexico and our history as Alta California under Mexican rule, we’ve been able to carry on the tradition of flowers and cakes and altars - and, of course, lots of calacas (skeletons) - right here in Southern California. Most of our Día de los Muertos celebrations have managed to retain their reverence for those on the other side, offering items including candy - in this case, usually calaveras (sugar skulls) - as gifts and offerings rather than tricks and treats.

Sometime in the 20th century, those two interrelated holidays grew apart, thanks to an over-commercialization of candy and costumes and the Hollywoodification of death and the spirit world as 'horror.' Halloween shares a common history with the three-day Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead - when we honor and remember our ancestors who have passed.