Hollywood Forever’s Dias de Los Muertes event has become a true staple of LA life. The gorgeous, large-scale celebration features musical and dance performances on stage and on the grounds; sculptural installations; art installations, elaborate and witty costumes on visitors and participants, and moving, poignant, and sometimes amusing altars.
Gotta catch ’em all.
There were drummers, dancers, and multiple stages offering soft ballads and strong beats. And quiet, contemplative spaces honoring the departed.
As a link between this life and the next, as a celebration, as an opening of the heart, mind, and soul to global cultures, the event is both lively and exciting.
Hollywood Forever was packed this year, as performers wove lush musical interludes and wild, mythical dances; attendees wrote messages to the departned on paper butterflies and tied them to a tree; and at another altar, attendees were encouraged to write the names of loved ones on colorful wooden sticks and plant them in sand.
Thematically, this year, the festival’s 20th, was about the mariposa, or butterfly, specifically the orange and black monarch. It was a graceful, hopeful theme, one that resonated on a variety of different levels.
The monarch butterfly winters in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Michoacán is also one of the two cultural heartlands in Mexico where the ancient traditions of Dia de los Muertos have been celebrated the longest and most vibrantly. The butterfly also represents the immigrants whose personal journeys echo the migrations of the butterflies between the U.S. and Mexico.
Several of the altars offered moving commentary on the difficulty immigrants face entering this country.
Inside the mausoleum, a bevy of terrific artists offered everything from carved wood to evocatively lit sculptures, paintings, and even stained glass. Arists included Eva Malhorta, Juan Solis, and Lore among many others.
On the grounds, large scale artworks dotted the landscape.
Taking place on Saturday the 2nd this year, this vibrant, transcendent cultural and spiritual event is as much an epitome of Los Angeles life as the pink and orange sunset pooling across the sky at twilight.
As lights sparkled on altars, the sunset, the towering palms, skeleton sculptures floated in Hollywood Forever’s small lake…
…sugar skulls and fairy lights glowed…
and the cemetery’s resident peacocks settled into cages for the night.
And one vibrant peacock-themed participant showed her plumage on the grounds.
Missed it this year? Pay homage to your ancestors, your city’s culture, and the magic of Dias de Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever in 2020.
- Genie Davis; photos: Jack Burke; supplemental shots, Genie Davis