![]() ![]() You’d think the Olvera Street Día de los Muertos festivities fell right out of Mexico’s own celebrations: There are the stalls selling tacos, fruit, and churros at La Golondrina Mexican Cafe, as well as nightly Novenario processions, colorful and vibrant parades of the living dead with participants carrying bowls of burning incense and huge photos of their loved ones.Īfter each procession, pan dulce (sweet bread) is passed out to the crowd, who can also bring photos of deceased loved ones to place on a community altar. | Photo by Josh HuskinĬonsidered the “ birthplace of Los Angeles,” the historic, tree-lined Calle Olvera is the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, where in 1781 travelers from what is now northern Mexico arrived and settled. ![]() San Antonio's party is known for its liveliness. Cities across the United States are coming around to these unique traditions-and these are among some of the best Día de los Muertos celebrations North of the border. Leading up to their loved ones’ return, family and friends decorate altars known as ofrendas with heartfelt adornments-old photographs, marigold flowers, shots of mezcal, candles, tissue paper cutouts, the deceased’s favorite food and drink, and other personal items-and light up the world with parades, parties, song and dance, elaborate costumes, painted sugar skulls, and more. Today, many Latin American countries celebrate a pair of holidays coinciding with the harvest: November 1, Día de los Inocentes, on which the spirits of children who’ve died return to their families and November 2, Día de los Muertos, for departed adults. Originally an Aztec holiday dedicated to the god Mictlantecuhtli and the goddess Mictecacíhuatl, the rulers of the underworld, it was later melded with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day after the Spanish arrived in the New World. But while good ol’ All Hallows Eve centers around gorging on candy and terrorizing everybody within a five-mile radius, Día de los Muertos is a joyous two-day celebration of the deceased, a colorful affirmation of life through the embrace of death. ![]() With its close proximity to October 31st, Día de los Muertos-or Day of the Dead- tends to get conflated with Halloween in America. ![]()
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