The Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) festival returned to Los Angeles’ Hollywood Forever Cemetery for its 22nd year on October 30th — where 40,000 people were expected to attend.
This year’s festival featured two separate ticketed events: ‘Dia de los Muertos” and ‘Noche de los Muertos. These events allow guests to enjoy and live up the cultural performances, art exhibits or culinary vendors.
This year’s theme will be Quetzalcoatl’s return, an ancient Aztec god who revives humanity from the underworld using his own blood.
Gabriel Avila, Director of Dance at LA Day of the Dead, stated that the theme of Quetzalcoatl’s return is to ponder the idea of resurgence, and coming back from, you know, such turbulent times.
Tyler Cassity, co-owner and president at Hollywood Forever, believes that it is about welcoming back the party.
‘The 18 months preceding us have been really hard, and in many respects it’s almost felt like day of death every morning, on the media through what we read and staying in homes. We are now coming out of that with hope, and Quetzalcatl is the symbol for our hope this year, said Cassity.
The fragrant smell of marigolds, or cempasúchil, was noticeable across the cemetery on Saturday, according to altar coordinator Angie Jimenez, who said she couldn’t wait for the annual festival’s biggest comeback since the coronavirus.
NPR spoke to her about how she loves that smell and the way it hangs in the air.
Jimenez is responsible for overseeing the installations of ofrendas, typically known as an altar or special table where a collection of significant objects are placed and put together by families commemorating their deceased loved ones.

PARTY TIME: Dressed in traditional make-up and costume a woman participates in the celebration for the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that allows families to welcome back the spirits of their deceased relatives. It includes food, drink, and celebration.

Revelers dressed to the nines, in intricate traditional costumes, take to the streets of Los Angeles.

Bones and sun: A huge skeleton figure can be seen under the palm trees at the Dia de los Muertos parade in Los Angeles.

Shall we dance: Dancers in death mask makeup perform traditional dances at the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles

Funky scare: Aztec dancers take part in a dance procession through Hollywood Forever Cemetery to celebrate Dia de los Muertos

We got company: A reenactment of a funeral procession by skeletons is displayed at a gravesite during the festivities for the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Forever cemetery
Due to COVID-related issues, this year’s altar count will be less than 100. This is because there are only 80 altars. Jimenez says that this doesn’t matter as he expects thousands more vibrant orange flowers whose pungent scent comes out of their stems and leaves to be on display.
They are essential for an altar to be complete. NPR also stated that Aztecs believed that ancestors must smell to find their way back home to them. She also stated that she will be adding a few dozen flowers to a personal family altar in honor of her sister and father, who are buried at this cemetery.
‘Our cempasúchil display will be small by comparison,’ she said, adding that some of the bigger altars can carry thick, carefully put together garlands of the flowers that can potentially measure more than 50 feet, covered over elaborate altar structures.
“I’m certain some will have thousands and boom! Jimenez laughed, saying that the smell of flowers will hit you right in your face.
It’s like no other. It’s a wonderful thing that I love.

Colorful view: marigolds, or cempasúchil, were thick throughout Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which gives view to the famous Hollywood sign

Particiapant walks among the graves at LA’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery wearing a death mask and wearing elaborate headgear.

A boy standing beside skeleton figurines and marigold petals is a desk mas
The roots of Día de los Muertos, which takes place on November 1 and ends on November 2, goes back centuries in Mexico and some other Latin American countries, but to a lesser extent.
It is deeply connected to pre-Hispanic Aztec rituals that worshiped the goddess Mictecacihuatl (or the Lady of the Dead), who allowed spirits to return to earth to be with their family members. When the Spaniards conquered Mexico, they merged this tradition with the Roman Catholic observation of All Saints Day.
The celebration engages the creation of an altar with offerings that show photos of the dead, candles, bottles of mezcal and tequila, and food, sugar skulls, and the cempasúchil — the Aztec name of the marigold flower native to Mexico.
The bright orange and yellow flowers’ scent is believed to help guide the souls and lead them to their families. The holiday, although it is about death, has a celebratory tone that is brightened by the bright colors.
“It’s a mixture between somberness and solemnity depending on the death of their loved one. It’s also very festive. According to Andrew Chesnut, professor at Virginia Commonwealth University of Religious Studies, mariachi music can be heard in the cemetery.
Around 40,000 people are expected today to attend the nightlong celebrations.

Dia de los Muertos celebrations include dancing and enjoying food and drink. Pictured: A young mom and her infant daughter join an Aztec dance troupe at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles.

Spooky: A participant gets his face painted to celebrate the Day of the Dead at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles

Beware: A participant shows her makeup and headdress at Saturday’s Dia de los Muertos Festival

Hollywood Forever Day of the Dead Celebration is expected to attract around 40,000 people

Shall We Dance: Young women dressed in traditional costume and make-up prepare to dance in a ritual dance procession for the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos).