NEVER FORGOTTEN DAY OF THE DEAD HONORS ANCESTORS, TRADITIONS.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer Towering papier-mache skeletons danced and mariachis sang along the 6th Street Bridge that connects downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or to the largely Latino Boyle Heights in one of the city's three largest Dia De Los Muertos Día de los Muer·tos n. See Day of the Dead. [Spanish : día, day + de, of + los, the + muertos, pl. of muerto, dead.] celebrations Saturday. Dubbed Festival de la Gente or ``Festival of the People,'' the celebration commemorates a pre-Hispanic tradition of the Meso-American people of honoring and celebrating the deceased on Dia De los Muertos or Day of the Dead. ``We are here to celebrate our version of America,'' said Henry Amado, who coordinated the festival. The daylong festival, which was expected to attract thousands of people, was first conceived by artist Tony Dominguez as a way of drawing youth into the arts while celebrating a long-held Mexican tradition. ``This is to plant the seed,'' Dominguez said. ``To get the kids to come out here and see the art and ask where does this culture come from.'' Just as important, he said, was the significance of its location at the heart of a community that has roots for many Mexicans throughout Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ``A lot of our ancestors Our Ancestors (Italian: I Nostri Antenati) is the name of Italo Calvino's "heraldic trilogy" that comprises The Cloven Viscount (1952), The Baron in the Trees (1957), and The Nonexistent Knight (1959). would go over the bridge to go to work,'' he said, recounting his grandfather's trip from East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. to Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. during the Depression years. Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , who helped secure the location, likened Boyle Heights to the ``Ellis Island of Los Angeles'' during the 1920s and 1930s. ``We are celebrating the place where we came from,'' said the third-generation Mexican-American. On Saturday, elaborate altars lined the streets, paintings hung from underneath a tent and impeccably painted lowriders stood along the avenue. It is believed that on Dia de los Muertos the souls of the dead return to visit and be entertained. Elaborate altars lined with gold marigolds symbolizing the dead, food, drink (often tequila) and favorite items of the dead are left for the spirits. While the idea may seem macabre for many North Americans, it is viewed as a festive time, for jubilation and celebration of life. In Mexico and parts of Central America where it is practiced, it's common to decorate the tombstones tombstones a cellular phenomenon in pemphigus vulgaris; rows of basal cells of the epidermis remain attached to the basal membrane, reminiscent of rows of tombstones. of dead relatives and eat with them late at night. And while the festival sought to honor the tradition, it also offered its own American twist on it. ``We are here celebrating life,'' said George Cullear, as he sat on a foldout fold·out n. 1. Printing A folded insert or section, as of a cover, whose full size exceeds that of the regular page. 2. A piece or part, as of furniture, that folds out or down from a closed position. chair along the bridge. Less than 100 feet away was his 1959 Atlantic blue Chevy Impala impala, species of antelope, Aepyceros melampus, closely related to the gazelle and found in the savannah and bush country of E and S Africa. It is the antelope most commonly depicted in illustrations and in motion pictures. with a silver glittered roof and trunk. ``A lot of the altars you see there are guys standing next to their car. It's their life; it's their culture,'' he said. The event, funded by $125,000 in private donations, will give 10 percent of its proceeds to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, which hoped to use the event to recruit more mentors, especially in the arts. Other Dia de los Muertos celebrations were held at Olvera Street and at Self Help Graphics in East Los Angeles. Rachel Uranga, (805) 583-7602 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Festivalgoers mingle during the daylong Dia De Los Muertos observance Saturday on 6th Street east of Mateo Street in downtown Los Angeles. (2) Michael Bolger, left, and Carlos Dominguez, part of Domingo Siete, perform during Dia De Los Muertos on Saturday in downtown L.A. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion