In The Recap this month- music, art, art shows, murals, spooky season posts and more. Check it out here and subscribe!
Nov 212025
Nov 012022
Little Día de los Muertos mural in Dunedin, Florida, by Anna Hamilton Fields.
Nov 012020
Artist Scherezade García’s large-scale community altar at Green-Wood Cemetery’s Historic Chapel for Día de los Muertos. Visitors were encouraged to bring personal offerings to a community altar, including flowers, photographs, and notes, among other objects.
Info from the artist’s Instagram–
Inspired by altars found throughout Mexico and the Mexican diaspora, Garcia’s altar combines her own unique style with this centuries-old celebration of the departed.
The centerpiece of the altar is a weeping, cinnamon-colored Statue of Liberty. By mixing all the colors in her palette, Garcia achieves a brown hue that embodies the ideals of diversity and inclusiveness. Her rendition of the Statue of Liberty, an iconic symbol of New York City, evokes the multitudes of immigrants that have found home here, including large Latin and Caribbean American communities. Garcia has dedicated the altar to all the New Yorkers who fell victim to the coronavirus.
Nov 012020
The sad news is that because of the pandemic Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s grounds are closed for its annual Día de Los Muertos Festival.
The good news is that they are having a Día de los Muertos event online today at noon! It’s hosted by Fernanda Kelly and includes performances by David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez of Los Lobos, Buyepongo, and Tropa Magica.
Oct 282017
Celebrate Día de Los Muertos in Los Angeles at the huge Hollywood Forever celebration. It includes several ceremonial altars, theatrical performances, Aztec Ritual Dancers, face painting, food trucks, a marketplace, and music. Bands on the schedule- Aterciopelados, Cuco, Ximena Sariñana, Very Be Careful, La Chamba, and more. Get there early, it gets very crowded.
You can also celebrate the holiday downtown in Grand Park. The altars will remain set up until 11/5, but tonight is Noche de Ofrenda, which will feature traditional dance and prayer led by the local indigenous community, as well as Los Angeles-based poets and musicians.
Oct 282016
Here are some of the things to do to celebrate Día de los Muertos/ Day of the Dead in and around Los Angeles-
Saturday (10/29)
One of the biggest Día de los Muertos celebrations in Los Angeles is at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. For its 17th Annual event the theme is The Tree of Life. This year the featured performer is Julieta Venegas, and there are numerous music and dance performances on the various stages around the cemetery, as well as altars, an art exhibition, local food and arts and crafts vendors and more. ($20)
Sunday (10/30)
MOLAA (Museum of Latin American Art) in Long Beach is having an all day festival including a Day of the Dead procession, live music and performances, sugar skull decorating, face painting and more. You can also check out the Museum’s Day of the Dead art and altars exhibit. (free)
San Pedro is having a big Day of the Dead festival with live entertainment, food, an altar competition and more
Downey is having its 4th Annual Día de los Muertos Art Festival. Along with several dance performances, musical performances, two film screenings Macario and Book of Life, an altar contest, an exhibition with local artists and more plus free admission and parking
As part of Pasadena’s Day of the Dead celebrations they are having a free screening of Book of Life at One Colorado
Through November 2
Día de los Muertos events are occurring all week on Olvera Street– with community altars on display, performances, face painting and more
November 2
Self Help Graphics and Art is hosting a free Día de los Muertos party in Boyle Heights with Alice Bag among the musical guests performing, food and craft vendors, face painting, children’s workshops and a traditional ceremonial blessing
Through November 6
Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos Altars and Art Exhibition spans the park with many creative altars, some traditional and some more contemporary. There is a community altar created by Ofelia Esparza and there are lunchtime tours running through 11/5 with some of the artists.
Oct 242015
Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos in Los Angeles
Here are some suggestions for celebrating:
Oct.24th- Día de Los Muertos at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery– The theme this year is Shamanic Visions of the Huichol. Lila Downs is one of the musical performers this year and there are altars, art exhibits, theatrical performances, face painting and of course food and drink. This celebration gets pretty busy as the day goes on so go early for the full experience. ($20)
Grand Park will have altars set up throughout the park from Oct. 24-Nov. 2, with events on the 24th
Famous Olvera Street downtown will also have events and altars from the Oct. 24th through Nov. 2, with a Novenario Procession nightly
Fig at 7th is having a free all day event on Friday Oct.30th for Day of the Dead which includes Sugar Skull Face Painting, Tequila Tasting, and music from KCRW DJ Raul Campos
Live music, altars, dance performances, art exhibitions and more are all part of Downey’s free Dia de los Muertos Art Festival on Nov. 1
Oct 302014
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (10/30-11/2/14) for Halloween and Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)-
Thursday
Lucha VaVoom: Night of the Vampire– Mexican masked wrestling and burlesque with a Halloween theme
Thursday and Friday
It’s the last two days of the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park which also includes a haunted house, maze and sideshow
The Mondrian Hotel is hosting Strange and Unusual: An Interactive Experience for the Recently Deceased- a Beetlejuice themed party complete with recreated sets from the film
Friday (Halloween)
The biggest event of the night is the West Hollywood Annual Halloween Carnival– over 500,000 people are expected to attend
At Crawloween, an event sponsored by ACME Hospitality group, all five of their downtown bars Library Bar, Sixth Street Tavern, Beelman’s Pub, Spring St. Bar and King Eddy Saloon are having differently themed parties, candy and $4 cocktails (including one called the Skullsplitter, a hangover predictor if ever there was one)
Cinefamily is hosting a “Childhood Haunts” Halloween party with scary video compilations, a midnight ghost story, drinks, dancing and more
LACMA Costume Ball: The Living Museum where people dress as works of art and enjoy DJs, food and drink, late night gallery walks and live horror installations
Friday and Saturday
Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton is at the Nokia Theater
Saturday
Día de Los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery is Los Angeles’ biggest Day of the Dead event and has altars, face painting, food and live entertainment including La Santa Cecilia
Grand Park is having a Dia de Los Muertos party as well with music, altars, and dancers
Thursday through Sunday
Dark Harbor on the Queen Mary in Long Beach has mazes, monsters, rides, live entertainment and of course food and drink-
Olvera Street has numerous Día de los Muertos events
The Purge:Breakout requires you and your group to solve puzzles and clues to escape or be purged
Alone: An Existential Haunting is not the usual haunted house experience- it describes itself as a “site-specific, immersive and artistic exploration of fear, loneliness and self preservation” which you must go through, you guessed it- alone
Also- through November 8th at the Mountainview Mausoleum and Cemetery in Altadena, Unbound Productions presents Wicked Lit- classic horror literature is transformed into an immersive theater experience
Nov 012013
(photo above of Dia de Los Muertos @ Hollywood Forever- 2012)
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend-
- Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Saturday)
- Downtown Dia de los Muertos at Grand Park (Saturday)
- Hard Day of the Dead feat. Skrillex and Nero (Saturday) and Deadmau5 and Calvin Harris (Sunday) and many others at LA Historic Park
- Arts ReSTORE LA:Westwood, an initiative by the Hammer Museum in empty storefronts in the area, opens Friday
- Richard Avedon at Gagosian Gallery (opens Friday)- http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/richard-avedon–november-01-2013
- Art on Screen: A Conversation with Agnés Varda at The Getty Center (Sunday)
- L.A. Salt Craft Fair at Pehrspace (Sunday)
Also, the following museums are free all weekend with a Bank America card: LACMA, Hammer, Skirball Cultural Center, Discovery Science Center, and Autry National Center.