To learn more about the artists, click HERE – Downtown Día artists

Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos Programs:

Grand Park’s Día de los Muertos Community Altars and Audio Tours
October 24, 2020–November 4, 2020
5:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. (park hours)

Location: Grand Park (Grand Avenue to North Broadway)

Guests can experience, hear and learn about the traditions of Día de los Muertos and stroll through 11 altars located throughout Grand Park, curated by Self Help Graphics in collaboration with their Noche de Ofrenda series of programs, including the annual Community Altar created by Maestra Ofelia Esparza and her family.

All personally and culturally relevant to Los Angeles, the 10 main large-scale altar installations represent the losses and causes of this past year. The altars are created by artists and community partners and focus on the youth from the East Los Angeles Women’s Center; workers and tenants from Community Power Collective; the rise in hate crimes against LGBTQ+ from Mi Estori: Artist Collective; and food justice from South Central Farm, among others. There will also be six kites “flying” in Grand Park’s Splash Pad representing migrant children who have died in ICE custody.

Given COVID-19 public safety requirements, the public is asked not to gather or linger in large groups or leave their own ofrendas on or touch the Community Altar this year. The altars will feature a 360-degree viewing opportunity to maximize social distancing among guests.

Representatives of these communities cannot always afford expensive drugs for erectile dysfunction, but can buy generic Levitra to save money.

To deepen appreciation and provide context of the public art installations, Grand Park will offer attendees the option of listening to five-minute pre-recorded audio guides with insights by the artists to complement altar viewing. Park-goers can access the storytelling through Grand Park’s Mixcloud and YouTube channels.

The Music Center Plaza Día de los Muertos Public Art Installation, including Digital Ofrendas

October 24, 2020–November 4, 2020
5:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.

Location: Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center

The Music Center Plaza will extend the park’s public art installation with a number of offerings. Specially made Mexican folk art of papel picado, made by artist Maricela Sosa, will welcome guests to the Plaza, where they will encounter digital ofrendas and public art installations intertwined with personal health and wellness messages. The Plaza’s two large LED screens will show photos of loved ones to be remembered, crowdsourced through community outreach, as digital altars. The public art installation will include two photo exhibits: Healing Sanctuaries, curated by Dancing Diaspora Collective, will document the healing practices and personal sanctuaries of Black and Brown people; and Soul Survivors, curated by Khalid Jefferson, will feature photographers Nailah Howze, Damien Carter, and Andrew Quesada whose work highlights perseverance in the Black community, empathy and collective healing. The exhibits will also serve as mental health awareness ofrendas, offering messages of hope and support coupled with suggested resources from the County’s Department of Mental Health about where and how to seek help for those who are experiencing increased stress and strong emotions during this pandemic. The displays, two 8-foot doubled-sided walls and two 6-foot four-sided cubes, will feature 360 degree viewing opportunities to enhance social distancing.

The Music Center will also provide Mixcloud  audio guides with details and background on the public art installations and digital ofrendas located on The Music Center Plaza.

Bike Ofrenda Workshop presented in partnership with Self Help Graphics (online)

October 24, 2020 – 1:00 p.m. (premiere)
Online: YouTube (@GrandParkLosAngeles)

In a DIY virtual arts-based workshop, Los Angeles-based artist Sandra de la Loza will guide viewers to convert their bike into a mobile ofrenda in the spirit of Día de los Muertos so they can ride around town and honor their ancestors. The free, easy and family-friendly workshop will stream on Grand Park’s YouTube channel on Saturday, October 24, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., and provide individuals and families the opportunity to do a hands-on project together from the comfort and safety of home. Viewers are invited to be creative with materials they have at home to make paper calacas (skulls), decorate their wheels with handmade spokes and create altars for handlebars or a cargo rack; the workshop’s suggested supply list will be available at grandparkla.org.

Self Help Graphics 47th Annual Día de los Muertos Virtual Celebration, Featuring Noche de Ofrenda
November 1, 2020 – 4:00 p.m.
Online: YouTube (Self Help Graphics / @SHGTV)

For the first time, the traditional Noche de Ofrenda ceremony honoring the dead will be a virtual program of reflection and remembrance. The online showcase, produced by Self Help Graphics (SHG) with live performances curated by The Paramount, will stream on Self Help Graphic’s YouTube channel.

As part of SHG’s virtual program, Grand Park’s segment will include testimonials about Noche de Ofrenda at Grand Park from Ofelia Esparza and Rosanna Esparza; SHG’s Board President Endy Bernal; Director of Grand Park Julia Diamond; and poet Gloria Sanchez, among other speakers; the segment was filmed on location in the park, following all Los Angeles County health protocols applicable to film production.