Grand Park Kicks Off Día de los Muertos Celebration with Grand Park’s Noche de Ofrenda Ceremony and Special Performances
WHAT: Grand Park launches its Día de los Muertos celebrations with a traditional Noche de Ofrenda ceremony, honoring the dead and featuring prayer led by the local indigenous community. The free event, presented for the third year in a row with Self-Help Graphics & Art, kicks off the Park’s display of more than 50 Día de los Muertos altars and art installations, which will remain in the park all week long. Both the altars and Día de los Muertos-themed sculptures will explore the evolution of the holiday over time, focusing on both traditional and contemporary topics. They range from personal stories that celebrate families and lost loved ones to expressions of current affairs and community challenges, such as gang violence, immigration reform and education.
Grand Park’s Noche de Ofrenda will feature:
- Opening prayer and presentation of traditional Mexica-Aztec dance by Danza Chicomecoatl of Boyle Heights.
- The creation of a giant community altar under the direction of celebrated master altar maker Ofelia Esparza.
- Theatrical performance by Casa 0101, a leading arts venue for Los Angeles’ East Side, which presents theatrical productions, film festival and other special events year round.
- Music performances by El Rio featuring Los Angeles’ Melissa Uribe and Bryan Diaz, who use Latin American folk rhythms to express resistance and revolution in a lyrical dance that unifies their past and present through song; and Fernanda Uribe, a Los Angeles-based Mexican-American artist who explores the rhythms of polka and country.
- Food from local food trucks.
WHEN: Saturday, October 24, 2015 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
WHERE: Grand Park, downtown Los Angeles 200 N. Grand Avenue Take the METRO RED or PURPLE LINE to CIVIC CENTER/GRAND PARK STATION, GOLD LINE to LITTLE TOKYO/ARTS DISTRICT STATION.
MORE INFO: Visit grandparkla.org or call 213-972-8080
