Días de los Muertos (Days of the Dead) is a traditional Mexican holiday when family and friends gather to honor and celebrate loved ones who have passed.
This year, Santa Monica observes the tradition with 15 events at 10 venues throughout the city that started Tuesday, Oct. 28 and will continue through Nov. 8.
The range of events offers people of all ages a variety of ways to engage in and become familiar with the many aspects of this important and rich tradition.
From the various events presented by Highways Performance Space and Pico Youth and Family Center, including community altar building, art workshops and performances, and the Main Library’s family celebration with music, crafts and participatory theater, to Santa Monica High School Roberts Art Gallery’s student exhibit, and Edison’s annual celebration including altars, food, music, crafts and tours, people are gathering citywide to discover and celebrate Días de los Muertos.
The City of Santa Monica presents one of the many events with its third annual Day of the Dead celebration and invites the community to join on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Woodlawn Cemetery.
The event focuses on the traditions that are part of this celebration of life and death.
The event offers a variety of ways for participants to learn about the philosophy and history of the day and features an opening procession, a workshop to create offerings for loved ones who have passed, a blessing with traditional music and dance, self-guided tours of the grave sites of local people of interest, and musicians performing throughout the cemetery honoring those who have passed.
Fresh tamales and pan de muerto will be available for purchase.
Woodlawn Cemetery, Mausoleum & Mortuary is situated on 26 acres and has views of the Santa Monica mountains and ocean.
The cemetery has been serving the community for over 100 years and is owned and operated by the City of Santa Monica – one of the few municipally-owned cemeteries in California. The city purchased the cemetery in 1897 and it is considered one of the city’s most important historical resources.
For information on all events, dates and locations, visit www.smgov.net/dia.
