For those Angelinos who missed the Oct. 28th Dia de los Muertos festivities at L.A.’s famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery, there’s always next year - but did you ever miss the greatest of all celebrations! This most glorious of all Day of the Dead observances here in L.A., where the photos accompanying this post were taken, was attended by upwards of ten thousand walking dead, with art and craft booths, troupes of folk and Aztec Dancers, art shows and hundreds of altars to the dearly departed - including a beautiful altar to Johnny, Joey, and Dee Dee of the Ramones! (Johnny is actually buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.)

“The indigenous cultures have always had celebrations to rejoin with all those who have departed from this world, usually around the autumn equinox. This is an opportunity to make the children aware of their past (self, familiar and communal.) In the Mexica tradition we elaborate altars, which display precious objects and dishes that have relationship with those being remembered. Children will, as expected, be puzzled about those objects and will ask, that is our chance to have them acquainted with their history; and prepared them for the difficulties ahead in order to have a good, long life though the stories about the live and death of their ancestors; all that in a joyful dancing and singing celebration about life and death. Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc Mexica Dance Group, invites you, to celebrate Día de los Muertos at Parque de Mexico - corner of North Main y North Mission in Lincoln Heights (L. A.). Wednesday Nov 1st from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. Join us, build your own altar or bring an offering, picture etc.”

Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc will be holding other ceremonies across Southern Califas, from Baldwin Park and Long Beach to the San Fernando Valley and Ventura county. Call (213) 481 8265 for more information.

[ This Column of the Americas article by Patrisia Rodriguez is titled, Patzin: La Katrina and Marigolds. The writer can be reached at: XColumn@aol.com © 2005. Column of the Americas. ]

These are the nights and days of La Katrina & marigolds. La Katrina is one of the Mexican popular names for death, and the marigold is her flor de muerto, the “death flower” that actually celebrates life. Lady Death is often depicted with a flower in her Victorian hat and a bustled dress. The marigolds’ Nahuatl name - cempoalxuchitl - is recorded in the amoxtlis or pre-Columbian books (also known as codices). Cempoalxuchitl, or cempoalxochitl, means 20-flower and is related to the sacred count of 20 in ritual pre-Columbian calendars. Marigolds grace altars and burial sites and marigold petals are strewn around altars from Oct. 28-Nov. 2 in ancient rituals that honor the spirit world. The spirits return, enticed by the smells of cempoalxuchitl and their favorite foods - from tamales to chocolates - that are made in ritual offerings.

The Day of the Dead is not a Mexican or indigenous version of Halloween. They have nothing to do with each other. Day of the Dead is about life and about death… about how we honor and how we remember the dead. Day of the Dead ceremonies were once part of a 20-day cycle that also recognized that the earth was about to go into repose. While many people are now familiar with the public altars and offerings, and the colorful “marigold parades” or processions and other community celebrations, ancient indigenous traditions continue complex ceremonies in Mexico and the United States rarely seen by the public. In fact, the celebration has now virtually achieved total mainstream acceptance.

While many indigenous cultures in North America do not follow Day of the Dead ceremonies, there does exist ceremonies that honor people in the spirit world, and the Northern relations are often invited to join in the pre-Columbian ceremonies. Day of the Dead has been internationally recognized as part of a world heritage, and no traditional observance of it is complete without cempoalxuchitl. I can’t help but wonder about the significance of names and the irony that this deadly hurricane carried the name of Katrina. As we mourn what Lady Death delivered to Louisiana, I offer these marigold recipes in honor of the dead. In keeping with the indigenous tradition of triple meaning, the marigolds, which are offered to the spirits, also represent the sun. They are used in ceremonies, spiritual rites and medicinal remedies. All of the marigold plant can be used medicinally in teas, baths, tinctures, soaps and creams. The “Aztec marigold” or Tagetes erecta (a relative of calendula) heals afflictions of the skin, wounds, yeast imbalances, infertility and ulcers. It also helps with digestive disorders and is said to calm the spirit and balance body temperature. It is a hot plant and can induce sweating and its root, says partera/ midwife, Dona Emilia of San Luis Potosi, can heal frio en la matriz. It is high in phosphorous.

A standard dosage of one teaspoon of marigold to one cup water is administered for one to two cups a day. And as a cultural recipe, let us offer flowers and song to remember that despite death and repose, the sun also rises. This year’s Dia de los Muertos Column is done in memory of: Don Nicolas, Don Felipe, Tio Sigfredo, Lalo Guerrero, Luis Alberto, the victims of the hurricanes, earthquakes, the tsunami, and all the current wars.

[ The traditional Dia de los Muertos observances that take place in late October and early November are a time of great festivity, no less so for those of us here in Los Angeles. Here’s a small sampling of just some of the upcoming observances and celebrations planned for L.A. ]

Hollywood Forever Cemetery - Sat., Oct 29th, 4 - 11 pm. One of the largest and grandest celebrations you’ll see in Los Angeles. Thousands come to view the alters, art, and costumed people in Hollywood’s final resting place for movie stars, musicians, and other Californian notables. You’ll never forget walking through this moonlit cemetery and the beauty of the alters in tribute to the dead. Bring a camera and something warm to wear. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd, LosAngeles, CA 90038-1864. For more information, visit the official website.

La Placita Catholic Church - Wed., Nov 2nd, Alter Blessing 6:30 to 7 pm. An altar installation by artist Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin that memorializes the dead of the Iraq War and the murdered women of Juarez. Come early and stroll the shops at Olvera Street - pick up some sugar skulls - then pay your respects to the war dead at La Placita Church (Our Lady Queen of Angels) Catholic Church, Olvera Street, Los Angeles, CA.

Street Parade and Candle light march - Five Points, East L.A. - Wed., Nov 2nd. Community artists in L.A. will celebrate Self Help Graphics and Art and what it’s meant to all of us. This is an invitation to all interested artists and community members to again celebrate Dia de los Muertos as an artist-led event. This year we will celebrate Day of the Dead with a street parade. The event begins at 7:00pm. Gather for a candle light march @ Five Points East L.A. Calavera make up & attire encouraged. For more info, contact Diane Gamboa. selfhelpartists@yahoo.com

Day of the Dead Fashion Show & Exhibit - Tropico de Nopal Gallery on Nov 5th. Join artists Cindy Bravo, Victoria Delgadillo, Consuelo Flores, Rigo Maldonado and community members for a unique vision in remembering our dead. Tropico de NopalGallery, 1665 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. For more info, visit the gallery’s website at: www.tropicodenopal.com

[ This article about the largest Day of the Dead art exhibit in the U.S. was first published on Mark Vallen's web log. It should be be noted that Sergio Hernandez, resident cartoonist for Xispas and a fine artist in his own right, is also a participating artist in the exhibition Vallen writes about ]

[ "Dia de los Muertos" Oil on wood panel. Mark Vallen 2003. ]

I’m a participating artist in Dia de los Muertos: The Journey Home, the nineteenth annual Day of the Dead exhibition at Chicago’s Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. I’m honored that the institution chose to exhibit my oil painting in its group show of forty artists from across the U.S. and Mexico. This is the nation’s biggest Day of the Dead art exhibition, and it’s being held in the largest Latino arts institution in the country. The museum sees Mexican culture as “sin fronteras” (without borders), and so presents works by artists from both sides of the border. With more than a million and a half Chicanos/Mexicanos in the Chicago area, the museum has been the cultural heart for that community since its founding in 1982. However, since its inauguration the institution has become a world class museum. In 1990 it presented the very last solo exhibition that famed Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo would hold in his lifetime, and in 1992 the museum signed a historic sister-museum agreement with El Museo del Templo Mayor (the fabulous archeological museum in Mexico City that holds all artifacts from the main Aztec Temple).

It was originally the indigenous people of Mexico who honored the dead through ritual celebrations. The Aztec held festivals of the dead that were presided over by the Queen of the underworld, Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead). During these celebrations music, dance, flowers and special foods were offered to the deceased. After the conquest of Mexico by the Conquistadors, Spanish priests found that they could not eradicate the religious practices of the subjugated Aztecs - so they attempted to co-opt them. The church moved the date when the Indians celebrated the dead (late July and early August), to coincide with the Catholic Día de Todos Santos, or All Saints Day (celebrated during the first two days of November.) Despite the Spanish attempt to transform the pagan carnival into a Christian observance, the festival retained much of its original indigenous character - even to this day. In the late 1960’s the holiday became popular in the American southwest as part of a growing self-awareness on the part of Mexican Americans. Today it is celebrated by Chicanos and Mexicano wherever you might find them - and its enchanting appeal continues to attract new adherents.

In keeping with the traditions of the holiday, and as part of The Journey Home exhibit, a number of artists have been invited by the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum to build elaborate decorative shrines that honor the deceased. On this occasion the alters will pay homage to three artists from Chicago who passed away this year: Allen Stringfellow, Ed Paschke, and Carlos Cortéz (who donated his collection of artworks and personal papers to the museum). Dia de los Muertos: The Journey Home runs from September 23rd, 2005 until December 11th, 2005. The museum is located at 1852, West 19th Street, Chicago Illinois 60608. Admission is free. For more information, visit the museum’s website.