A traditional Dia de los Muertos celebration will be held from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.
Dia de los Muertos, or All Souls Day, honors and celebrates the life of the deceased through songs, prayer and altars. The celebration will also include face painting, folkloric, Aztec and Matlachines dancers, mariachis, and a special performance by Mariachi Las Colibri.
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez will preside at a noon Mass, and then lead a procession around the cemetery’s mausoleum, and blessing of a community altar and more than 50 altars built by families who have their departed loved ones buried at the cemetery.
The Archdiocese Office of Religious Education is organizing a massive community Dia de los Muertos altar, which will include pictures of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Oscar Romero and pictures honoring the lives of those who have died in recent incidents of gun violence and natural disasters, according to Doris Benavides, the associate director of media relations of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The public is invited to participate in the community altar by bringing pictures of their deceased loved ones for placement on the altar. The altar will include more than 2,000 marigolds, symbolizing sunshine and light.
Traditional foods including pan de muerto, champurrado, Mexican candies and fruits will also be displayed.
Admission is free. More details are available at archla.org/diadelosmuertos.