Dia De Los Muertos LA: Shaman Sunset Ceremony (Part 1)

Dia De Los Muertos came early to this year’s Cultural Events calendar at Hollywood Forever with their “Shamanic Visions of the Huicol” festivities on October 24, 2015. Now in its 16th year, the festival is a celebration of traditional Mexican culture and customs.

Dia De Los Muertos - Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever — Altar at Entrance to Dia De Los Muertos – Shamanic Visions of the Huichol at Hollywood Forever

As a photojournalist working entertainment events in Hollywood, I am often presented with, shall we say … “unusual circumstances.” And I must offer, as one who does not cover hard news; murders, car accidents, disasters, etc., I can’t say I ever anticipated parking my Jeep next to a working Los Angeles County Coroner’s van. 😮

Much less, sandwiched between the Coroner and … Warner Bros. movie trucks! It was a bit surreal, to say the least. 😉

The festival opened at noon, however, with final acts on stage until midnight, this photographer decided to take it a bit easy and arrive in time for the Shaman Sunset Ceremony. Actually, there were several held on the sprawling grounds of Hollywood Forever, with three stages and additional performance areas spread throughout. This one was at the crossroads near the altar at the entrance above.

Details in the tradition-influenced costumes and makeup of the Tepetl Yollotl performance group were simply amazing!

The event is definitely family friendly during the day, both for guests and performers! Awwwww ❤

Once the sun went down, the more than 100 altars on the property were all illuminated, each in their unique individual displays. That plus main stage performances are coming in the blogs ahead. 🙂

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