Hollywood Forever hosts 25th annual Día de los Muertos festival

On Saturday, October 26, Angelenos, in and out of costume, eagerly lined up for Hollywood Forever’s 25th annual and beloved Día de los Muertos festival, nearly a week prior to the two-day Mexican tradition on November 1–2. 

“Dia de los Muertos is a time of celebration and remembrance,” Hollywood Forever says on their website. “It is also a time to come to terms with our mortality and become aware of the cycle of life and death. Rather than deny and fear death this event teaches us to accept and contemplate the meaning of mortality.”

Also known as Day of the Dead, the well-known celebration dates back over 3,000 years ago and is rooted in indigenous culture, specifically Nahua (Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltec, Chichimec and Tecpanec) and others native to Mexico. In both Mexican and indigenous cultures, the tradition of this holiday remains the same—the dead return to earth to visit their loved ones for one night to spend time with their living relatives. In anticipation of that mystical night, those who celebrate celebrated all Saturday in preparation. 

Festival attendees were immediately met with an indigenous blessing performance at the Main Gate upon entering the festival at the full-service funeral home, crematory, cemetery and cultural events center in the heart of Hollywood, which is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood legends and a beloved space to Angelenos, was both vividly decorated and overflowing with offerings for all ages. 

This year’s theme, “Spirit Guides and Guardians, Tonas and Nahuales,” takes inspiration and guidance from the Zapotec’s tradition of carved and patterned Tonas and Nahuales as the venue exhibits pieces from workshops in Oaxaca. “Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures believe each person, at birth, acquires a tona, an animal to which they are spiritually bound–with a shared destiny and common traits,” according to Hollywood Forever’s website. “Nahuales are spiritual guardians in animal form and yet some powerful and magical humans could shapeshift in and out of their nahual or animal form–especially at night. The Tonas and Nahuales are spirit guides and astrological embodiments of human character and metamorphosis.”

Marigold flower-lined paths guide celebrators through rows of beautiful and meticulously crafted ofrendas, or altars, filled with photos of loved ones, sugar skulls, bread, water and other sentimental objects. Each ofrenda is either interactive or just as enjoyable to admire as you walk by, such as “Santa Clarita Puebla,” which took the owner all night to put together. With an iced cold michelagua to cool off under the Los Angeles sun in one hand, a churro in the other and a consistent flow of incense traveling through the cemetery, giant calaveras and calacas, living and inanimate, watch over attendees as they pose for pictures and admire their individual beauty. 

In true Mexican fashion, with several vendors at their fingertips, families and friends joined in celebration with visiting spirits and enjoyed the cuisines of The Tamale Fiesta, Oaxaca On Wheels, Tacos Before Vatos, Northgate Market and more. Amongst the culinary options, many booths found a home at the festival, offering a variety of art and music, while attendees had the opportunity to enjoy the talents of dance groups like Dance Azteca Cuautli, the music mixings of a variety of DJs and readings from authors such as Luis San Vincent and Naibe Reynoso. 

During the 14-hour festival, the Cathedral Art Exhibition featured renowned artists, including Antonio and Macedonia Fuentes, Ruben Santiago, Maricruz Sibaja, Gennaro Garcia, Carine Fabius and Joaquin Trujillo, taking admirers of art through Oaxacan, Mexican, Haitian and Aztec cultures. 

Although this event was once free to the public and now charges admission, Alejandra Velasco of Latinx with Plants, which has held a booth at the festival for three years in a row, feels the event is important because of how much it has to offer for not only adults but children as well. The Children’s Plaza allowed children to make their own Alebrije mask and create a fragrant satchel, using dried Marigold, inspired by alebrijes to honor a deceased loved one with LA Lucha Art Production, paint sugar skulls with Lil’ Libros and block print greeting cards with Latinx with Plants. 

The day continued with a ceremonial procession of the Día de los Muertos performers that began at the Main Gate, proceeded throughout the cemetery, and ended at the Main Stage, along with costume and altar prizes, a multitude of performances and a warm atmosphere as the sun set and midnight crept in.