The Brief

For people suffering from long COVID's often disabling symptoms, including intense fatigue, breathing troubles, cognitive issues and heart palpitations, the list of scientific unknowns may sound defeating. There's still no validated treatment or diagnostic test specifically for the condition, although there are many candidates.

Clinicians who treat long COVID are acutely aware of the unsettled nature of the field. "You do sort of feel like you're out in the wilderness," says Dr. Rasika Karnik, medical director of UChicago Medicine's post-COVID clinic.

Karnik first began seeing long COVID patients in the fall of 2020. There's more information to work with now, she says, but doctors' approach still comes down to treating individual symptoms, rather than the underlying cause of the illness. "It's hard to look a patient in the eyes and say 'we're not quite sure yet' and to keep repeating that," she says.

But researchers are making progress in the field, and they presented their recent findings at one of the first major gatherings dedicated to sharing emerging evidence about the possible root cause of long COVID and implications for treatment.

"I know there's been a lot of frustration that there haven't been faster answers," says Dr. Catherine Blish, a professor of medicine at Stanford University and one of the organizers of the conference, held by the nonprofit Keystone Symposia in Santa Fe, N.M., in late August.

"But in all honesty, we are so much further ahead at this relative point than for any other major disease in my lifetime as an infectious disease specialist," she says.

The meeting underscored that scientists have made headway in developing evidence of a clear biological basis for what patients have been reporting for years.

"I've never doubted it — people are suffering," says Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist at Yale University who's involved in long COVID research. "But we're now seeing imaging evidence, biopsy evidence, physiologic testing evidence of derangements in people who have long COVID."

Here are some of the new findings and promising lines of research highlighted during the three-day gathering.

Narrowing in on some key suspects behind the disease

If long COVID were a crime scene, authorities would have no shortage of leads.

They've pinpointed a handful of possible reasons why patients suffer from an array of chronic symptoms. The tricky thing is disentangling which mechanisms are bystanders and which are actually doing the damage.

"At this point, we have hints and correlative data," says Blish. "We can say we see this finding in a subset of people, but that doesn't mean it's the cause of their problems."

Take the theory of viral persistence: There's now strong evidence that protein and genetic material from SARS-CoV-2 persist in the blood and tissue of some long COVID patients well after their initial illness. Scientists believe these "viral reservoirs" could be driving many of the problems in long COVID patients, although it isn't yet clear exactly how this is happening — and whether the virus itself is replicating.

Dr. Michael Peluso, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told conference attendees that his team is now confident in their data showing pieces of viral antigen in the blood of people anywhere from six months to more than a year after they've had COVID-19.

They compared these blood samples to ones collected years before the pandemic to verify their conclusions. "That's a very, very important finding, showing that this is indeed real," he says.

But the story gets more messy from there because these viral reservoirs may not be the primary culprit.

While they are more likely to find viral persistence in the most symptomatic long COVID patients, not everyone with long COVID has it, Peluso notes, "And then really importantly, we're also seeing this in some people who feel totally fine — and we don't know what that means."

Finding activated T cells where they shouldn't be

Other leads have come from imaging technology that traces the activity of T cells, a type of white blood cell, which are part of the body's main antiviral immune response.

"We saw some very unexpected findings," says Dr. Timothy Henrich, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

His lab has found activated T cells in the gut wall, lung tissue, certain lymph nodes, the bone marrow, the spinal cord and the brainstem, long after someone's initial infection.

"You really shouldn't have activated T cells in the spinal cord or the brainstem," he says. "We are seeing evidence of this immune response in areas we don't typically see in the setting of an acute viral infection."

Here too the immunological detective work opens up even more questions: This T cell activity is also present in people who've recovered from an infection and have no long COVID symptoms, although Henrich notes the levels appear to be higher in certain tissues of people with long COVID.

So what does this immune response actually indicate about the underlying cause of the disease?

Henrich says T cell activity could be evidence that the immune system is trying to purge the viral reservoirs, or that the immune response has gone awry, possibly in the form of an autoimmune response, and is "doing damage to people, even if the virus has been cleared or is not replicating in those tissues," he says.

Similar questions bedevil researchers pursuing another theory.

Research shows that people with long COVID have high levels of Epstein-Barr antibodies and that an acute COVID infection can trigger reactivation of the virus.

Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale University, says it's well known that this herpesvirus can lead to a "long COVID-like syndrome," but whether or not the reactivation is driving long COVID symptoms — or just an indication of a dysregulated immune system — remains to be seen.

All of those involved in research stress that they don't expect just one answer to long COVID. It's likely that many of these theories about its underlying cause are interrelated. And certain mechanisms may only be causing symptoms in some patients and not others.

Microclots could point the way to treatment

Early in the pandemic, it was recognized that COVID-19 can wreak havoc on the vascular system, in particular causing inflammation and damage to the inner lining of blood vessels, known as endothelial cells.

Resia Pretorius, a medical researcher at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, says the clotting and hyperactivation of platelets in long COVID is essentially a "persistent continuation" of what happens during an acute infection within the blood vessels.

Her research has focused on the role of tiny, harmful blood clots she's seeing in the blood of long COVID patients that appear to have "trapped inflammatory molecules that you might expect inside the blood if you have inflamed [or] damaged endothelial layers."

"It's not unique to long COVID, but long COVID has so much more of these inflammatory molecules in circulation," says Pretorius. "And what makes it so interesting is that the spike protein drives these microclots to form."

As the clots accumulate, they may choke off blood flow, preventing oxygen from reaching tissue.

In Santa Fe, Pretorius shared preliminary data from her team showing that so-called "triple therapy" — a combination of three medications — targeting clotting and platelet hyperactivation could benefit some long COVID patients. The preprint showed that this regime resolved symptoms in the majority of the 91 patients who were followed, although the results are not yet peer-reviewed and the study was not a clinical trial.

The approach is not without risk; many patients reported bruising, some had nosebleeds and one reported a gastrointestinal bleed.

Pretorius says microclots are not necessarily the root cause of long COVID, though.

It could be that viral reservoirs are actually helping trigger this vascular mayhem in the first place. These microclots, if left untreated, could also tie into other problems seen in long COVID patients, perhaps leading some to develop autoimmunity, says Pretorius. "That is a problem to solve because we know autoimmune diseases are notorious for being so, so difficult to treat."

Sex differences may play a role in long COVID risk

In general, males tend to do worse during an acute bout of COVID-19, but studies show that long COVID appears to be more prevalent among females. Yale's Iwasaki says this is also the case for other "post-acute infection syndromes."

This background led Iwasaki's lab to look into sex differences in the immune profiles of long COVID patients, in hopes of finding another path to understanding what could be driving the illness. She says they've found that reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus and the activation of T cells are more prevalent among females, whereas males have different "immune signatures."

"We're already starting to see sex differences in long COVID symptoms, as well as potentially the autoimmunity more associated with female patients," she says. "This insight is critical going forward because now we can separate out long COVID into different clusters. And depending on the driver of the disease, we can start targeting it with proper medicine."

Iwasaki's lab has also zeroed in on the role of hormones.

At the conference, she shared evidence of reduced cortisol levels in long COVID patients and shared a separate, unpublished finding that female long COVID patients tend to have reduced testosterone levels and that males have reduced estradiol levels.

Those who had lower testosterone (compared to the controls who don't have long COVID symptoms) also have higher activation of T cells, whether they're males or females, says Julio Silva, a graduate student in Iwasaki's lab who presented the new findings on testosterone. And this was "associated with higher neurological symptoms and overall higher symptom burden," says Silva.

The impetus to look at testosterone was, in part, because of "anecdotes from trans individuals who were informing us that while on testosterone therapy, their symptoms had improved dramatically," says Silva. While the results are preliminary and need to be replicated, he says they at least raise the question "could hormonal therapy help?"

Taken together, Iwasaki says their data strongly suggest there could be problems in the area of the brain that's responsible for regulating these hormones.

Viral persistence offers one possible target for treating long COVID

In the absence of a clear roadmap for treating long COVID, doctors and patients have taken to trying all kinds of therapies — from antivirals to drugs approved for treating addiction.

"All of this research is so critical to understanding the underlying mechanisms of long COVID," says Lisa McCorkell, co-founder of the advocacy group Patient-Led Research Collaborative. "We need to pair that with focusing on clinical trials. We have enough evidence right now to at least try some things."

In Santa Fe, UCSF's Peluso outlined how his team had just launched a small trial using monoclonal antibodies to target the coronavirus spike protein in long COVID patients — one vehicle for testing whether viral persistence is the underlying cause of at least some patients' symptoms. Meanwhile, Iwasaki and Krumholz, both at Yale, have started a clinical trial testing whether a 15-day course of Paxlovid can help alleviate symptoms.

Stanford's Blish points out that as more clinical trials start up, their success will hinge on being deliberate about which patients should be enrolled, since long COVID is a catch-all term for what may be multiple different illnesses.

"We need to understand in detail who's most likely to benefit from those trials, because if we just take everyone, that trial will fail," she says.

Many other trials are in the works, too, but Dr. Jennifer Curtin says those will inevitably take time to produce evidence that trickles down to patient care.

"It's that tough sort of in-between status right now," says Curtin, co-founder of the telehealth clinic RTHM that treats long COVID and other overlapping conditions like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS for short. "So what do you do for the people who are sick and suffering now until we get that data?"

Curtin, who has lived with ME/CFS herself, says their clinic's approach is to perform intensive workups, draw lots of blood and try to identify which symptoms they can treat.

"Treatment is very much individually tailored," she says. "Right now it's a journey that you take with your patients. You're going through this together. You're both learning on this road and it can be tough."

Always in the backdrop at the Santa Fe gathering was the question of whether there would be enough funding — be it from the U.S. Congress or the pharmaceutical industry — to advance the research agenda toward treatments.

"What we really need here is industry engagement. We need funding for clinical trials. And that, to me, is something that's missing," says McCorkell.

Conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center have improved, but serious concerns remain, according to Rep. Robert Garcia, who represents Long Beach, and other members of Congress who visited the facility Friday.

At a news conference immediately following the visit, the representatives described unsanitary conditions in the showers and kitchen areas, food that looked inedible and inadequate access to medical care.

Improvements to water

Rep. Norma Torres of Pomona, who has visited Adelanto 25 times in an oversight capacity, said the only improvement she saw this time was that the facility installed water filtration systems in response to a July court order requiring ICE to ensure people held there have access to clean drinking water 24 hours a day.

Garcia told LAist he would leave it up to the independent monitors appointed by the court to determine if the facility was fully complying with the order. The monitor overseeing overall conditions at the facility released its first report, containing 12 recommendations for improvement, earlier this month. The federal government recently purchased the facility from the GEO Group Inc. for $950 million. GEO Group is still under contract to run day-to-day operations there.

The visit was unannounced

Garcia, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said officials at the facility kept the delegation waiting in the lobby for half an hour before starting the tour, despite a recent court order requiring the Trump administration to grant elected officials access to immigration detention facilities.

“We should have been allowed to visit immediately,” Garcia said. “That is the law.”

Garcia and other representatives said it appeared the facility had been cleaned just before the tour started. The representatives also said they were not allowed to speak with people detained at the facility because ICE officials said they were conducting a point-in-time count and people were confined to their cells.

What’s next?

The representatives said they will take recommendations back to the oversight committee and plan to continue unannounced visits to immigration detention centers, including Adelanto. Should Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in November, Garcia and other representatives said they will increase oversight of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. Attorneys representing people held at Adelanto in a class-action lawsuit have asked the court to enforce the July order requiring improvements to the facility based on the independent monitor’s first report and reports from people detained there.

In a rare move, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia on Friday said his office issued a subpoena to Olympics organizing committee LA28, demanding it hand over documents detailing its finances, contracts and budgets for venue construction projects.

The action comes after LA28 failed to include a detailed list of its contracts in its recent budget report to the city, despite a contract requiring their disclosure.

The Games Agreement between the city and LA28 requires the committee to submit the name, type, amount, term and purpose of each contract it has entered into worth more than $1 million. It also requires the organizing committee to give updates on venue improvements, including schedules and budgets.

The controller issued a request for those details in a letter to LA28 in August, but said he turned to legal action because the organization still hasn’t satisfied its obligations. The city of Los Angeles is the financial backstop for the Games, and will be on the hook for cost overruns if LA28 doesn’t turn a profit.

“The Controller’s Office completed a review of all LA28 documents within the City’s possession and determined that the financial documents requested are either incomplete or wholly absent,” Mejia’s office wrote in a news release issued Friday.

The controller's office told LAist Friday that it worked with the city attorney on the LA28 subpoena and that it "has the full support and backing of the City Attorney’s office."

LA28 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There is precedent for city controllers issuing subpoenas, but they’re not common.

Former City Controller Ron Galperin told LAist that he only issued a subpoena while he was in office one time.

“It’s a power that controllers don’t necessarily exercise a lot, but when it’s the right time, it’s an important tool,” he said.

City officials have seen some of the documents Mejia is demanding, but only in passing. Sharon Tso, Chief Legislative Analyst and a top Games negotiator for the city, told a city council committee last month that she had seen a list of LA28's contracts in a meeting, but that the city didn't have hard copies due to concerns that public disclosure could harm negotiations sponsor deals.

After city councilmembers demanded to see the contracts, Tso and City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo requested LA28 submit its contracts. Tso told LAist in an email Friday that they were still waiting on LA28's response.

LAist has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:

• CalFire incident page
• Evacuation map
• OC Fire Authority
  

Six homes burned in the Norte Fire, which broke out Friday in the San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano areas. The fire spread to more than 460 acres and forced evacuations, Orange County Fire Authority Chief T.J. McGovern said at a news briefing Friday evening.

Who’s under evacuation orders

The evacuated areas are San Juan Capistrano Zones 4, 5 and 10 and San Clemente Zones 12 and 13.

Shelters in the area — the San Juan Capistrano Community Center and the San Clemente Community Center (addresses below) — have space and will accept small pets, said Justin Chevalier, chief of police services for San Clemente.

Chevalier said police would maintain “high visibility” as a deterrent to anyone wanting “to take advantage of the situation.”

How fast the fire moved

Due to weather and topography, this fire moved fast,” McGovern said. “It was a wind-driven event.”

The fire ignited around 11:30 a.m. near Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte in San Clemente, according to Cal Fire. The Orange County Fire Authority received a call at 11:33 a.m. and sent crews that were already on standby, McGovern said.

“When the call came in, we had a robust response already ready to go from the air and the ground, and I can tell you — that made a difference,” he said.

Injuries and containment

No residents were hurt, but two firefighters were injured and were being treated at a local hospital, McGovern said.

The fire, which was at 465 acres Friday night, was 0% contained as of 6:45 p.m. About 400 firefighters were working the fire, with 400 more on the way, and crews planned to stay on the fire line overnight, McGovern added.

Fire weather across Southern California

Other fires have broken out across Southern California amid gusty winds and dry conditions, including the Bryson Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu. Red flag warnings are in effect through Saturday, according to National Weather Service, with cooler weather and a chance of light rain expected over the next few days.

 

The basics

• Acreage: 465 acres as of Friday night
• Containment: 0%
• Structures destroyed/impacted: At least six homes
• Deaths: None
• Injuries: 2 firefighters injured and receiving treatment at a local hospital
• Personnel working on fire: Multiple helicopters and water-dropping aircraft, along with ground crews
  

Evacuation map and orders

Orange County evacuation map

• SCL12
• SCL13
• SJC04
• SJC05
• SJC10

Evacuation shelters

San Juan Capistrano Community Center
25925 Camino del Avion,
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

San Clemente Community Center
100 N Calle Seville
San Clemente, CA 92672

Listen to our Big Burn podcast

Fire resources and tips

Check out LAist's wildfire recovery guide

If you have to evacuate:

• Why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
• How to get packed up
• How to leave your house
• What evacuation terms mean and how to sign up for alerts

Navigating fire conditions:

• How to drive in high winds and fire danger
• How to prep for power outages
• How to navigate poor air quality

How to help yourself and others:

• Resources for fire victims, evacuees and first responders
• If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer
• How to help find lost pets

How to start the recovery process:

• What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
• How to make an insurance claim
• How to safely clean up wildfire ash

What to do for your kids:

• How to talk to children about wildfires and losing a home
• What parents should know about wildfire air quality

Prepare for the next disaster:

• Fire season is here. Make sure you're signed up for these alerts
• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire
• Yes, wildfires are getting worse. The history that got us to this moment

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a time to honor the memory of loved ones who have died. The holiday’s most beloved traditions include building ofrendas at home or visiting cemeteries to decorate the graves of those who have departed. 

The celebration, widely observed in Mexico and other Latin American countries, also brings colorful, vibrant events to Los Angeles. On or before Nov. 1 and 2, cempasúchil-covered altars, intricately designed sugar calaveras and pan de muerto will spring up. 

We’ve rounded up a list of mostly free events on L.A.’s Eastside and downtown to celebrate the cherished cultural holiday.

Oct. 17: Día de los Muertos at El Sereno Community Arts 

El Sereno Community Arts presents its 17th annual Día de los Muertos community celebration with a day full of activities for the whole family. The event will feature free arts and culture programming, community altars, live musical performances and food from local vendors. The festival will also feature artwork and handmade catrinas made from the arts center’s community workshops. 

Oct. 17: What We Carry: East L.A. to Palestine at Tonalli Studio 

Tonalli Studio will open its Día de los Muertos exhibition and ofrenda to showcase how land, home and family are threatened today. What We Carry tells the stories of resilience across generations from the communities of East L.A. to Palestine. Guests are invited to add names, prayers or written statements to this year’s “East L.A. to Palestine” ofrenda. 

Oct. 18: Paint and Sip at Cafe Niña 

Join the beloved coffee spot for a morning decorating a miniature altar to add to your ofrenda at home.  Each ticket will include your choice of a coffee or matcha, a paint set with a miniature ofrenda and a light brunch. Tickets are limited, so be sure to grab yours through their Instagram page. 

Oct. 18: Crafting Party at Benny Boy Brewing 

Benny Boy Brewing is hosting its 4th Annual Día de los Muertos Crafting Celebration, featuring sugar skull decorating sessions. There will be an assortment of crafting materials to choose from and additional items include a clear box to display your completed sugar skull, ribbon, cempasuchil flowers and a customized tealight candle. Guests can purchase a small or large skull and get free face-painting. Please note that the event is for guests 21 and over. 

Oct. 24: Calavera LGBTQ+ Festival by Latino Equity Alliance 

The Latino Equity Alliance will celebrate its annual Calavera LGBTQ+ Festival with an evening of drag and musical performances, dancing, community resource booths and an altar. In collaboration with the Get Out the Vote Initiative, the festival will also feature a free, nonpartisan, L.A. County Mobile Voting Center located outside the venue for the public to access. 

Oct. 24 – Nov. 2: Día de los Muertos at Gloria Molina Grand Park 

For 10 days, Gloria Molina Grand Park will transform into an exhibition space honoring cultural traditions through art, community altars and remembrance. Kicking off the festivities with an opening ceremony, attendees can enjoy live musical performances from El Río, Grupo Bella, Anaís Azul, and Mariachi Arco Iris de Los Angeles. The celebration will honor indigenous roots by including a sacred processional and blessing from Ohtli Yollotl Collective. Guests can explore up to 17 unique altars from local artists and organizations on display and are encouraged to contribute to the event’s designated community altar by leaving a photo, note, or memento in remembrance of a loved one. This year’s theme is “The Power of One” and is curated by artist Consuelo G. Flores. Guests will be able to participate in family-friendly activities, including free face painting, sugar skull workshops and wellness offerings from community partners. 

Oct. 25: Family Day at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes 

For an afternoon full of family-friendly activities and entertainment, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes welcomes attendees to participate in this year’s community celebration. Featuring three workshops that explore traditional practices, including painting skull masks, flower accessories and herb bundles. Food from Tamales Veracruz y Más and Sammy’s Elotes y Más will be available for purchase. This year’s celebration will feature a number of live entertainment acts, including Banda Filarmónica Los Alebrijes, Grupo Folklórico Princesa Donaji, and Los Elejidos de Asís de los Muertos. LA Plaza encourages guests to contribute to their Ofrenda Comunitaria.

Oct. 25: Las Fotos Project Community Wellness Day 

In partnership with Youth to the People, Las Fotos Project is hosting its bi-monthly community wellness day with a Día de los Muertos celebration. The event will feature family-friendly activations like art-making, including their signature vela decorating station, calavera or catrina face painting,  a community ofrenda, and a stylized portrait station. Guests can enjoy light bites and beverages and explore the free clothing swap station and community resources available, including special guest Soluna to discuss their free mental health resources. In partnership with Polo’s Pantry and Saticoy Food Hub, there will also be fresh produce available while supplies last. 

Oct. 27: Community Ofrenda at SuperNova Thrift 

Beginning Oct. 24, SuperNova Thrift invites the community to take part in the making of their Día de los Muertos altar. People are encouraged to bring a photocopy of their loved ones with their name, a letter, drawing, or memory, flowers, and small nonvaluable offerings. Participants are also welcome to join by being a helping hand in the making of the altar. The altar will be open for viewing at the storefront from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, with three special days of remembrance.

Oct. 30: 1st Street Community Block Party

The 1st Street Collective, a hub for the businesses along Boyle Heights’ 1st Street corridor, is back with its Día de Muertos Community Block Party at Mariachi Plaza. This year’s celebration will feature music, dancing, family-friendly activations and local vendors. Enjoy free face painting, live art installations, performances, a community altar and more for people of all ages. 

Nov. 1: Día de los Muertos at Plaza de la Raza 

Join Plaza de la Raza’s annual outdoor community celebration, which will include hands-on workshops, musical entertainment, art and local vendors. Attendees can join a variety of crafting workshops, from calaca puppet making to papel picado, alebrije making, and flower making with altarista Ofelia Esparza and family. Attendees can also walk through a vendor marketplace and explore the artwork and altar installations that will feature over 25 participating artists.  Live performances include members of Ozomatli, El Mariachi Manchester, Danza Divina de Los Angeles, Tiny Tots Folklorico, Plaza de La Raza Mariachi and Folklorico students, and Folkor Pasión Mexicana.  

The Boathouse Gallery will also be open for its “El Velorio” exhibit, featuring original work from over 200 local artists and curated by Superchief Gallery, Irene Hernandez and Manny Martinez. The exhibit will be on display from Oct. 10 to Nov. 7. 

Nov. 6 – 8: Every Altar Begins with a Story by Colibri Dance Theatre & Casa 0101 Theater 

This Día de Los Muertos, a contemporary theatrical dance production takes center stage at Casa 0101. Presented by the Colibri Dance Theatre, the performance will be full of stories of love, family, resilience, joy, grief, forgiveness and strength.  In this showcase, an altar comes to life as told through the eyes of CUENTOS characters “La Catrina,” “El Catrin,” “Alebrije,” and “Calacas.” Attendees can experience a night of movement, music, and poetry that honors Día de Muertos traditions and cultural practices. 

Nov. 7 : Cafecito + Little Piñata Workshop 

Join this community collaboration between Healing in Spanglish and Little Piñata Guy for a mini piñata workshop to dedicate and honor loved ones. Each attendee ticket includes coffee from Anhelo Coffee, Pan de Muerto by Repostería Aguilar, and materials to create your own mini piñata. Spend your morning remembering your loved ones and crafting with community. Tickets are limited. 

Nov. 7: Día de los Muertos at Self Help Graphics & Art 

To round out their monthlong community art workshops and events, Self Help Graphics and Art will host its 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos celebration. This year’s celebration is in partnership with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino. The communal gathering will begin with a procession at 2 p.m. at Mariachi Plaza led by Danza Azteca Chicomecoatl and will end on the corner of 1st Street and Anderson Street, outside Self Help Graphics, for the festivities. Attendees can shop through the “Muertos Market,” featuring local artists and artisans, local food vendors, Self Help Graphics prints for sale, face painting, and arts activities for all ages. The celebration will also include a main stage for live musical performances from Extra Ancestral, Chulita Vinyl Club L.A., Jimetta Rose and the Voices of Creation, La Santa Cecilia, The Red Alibi, Mendez High School Mariachi, and headliners, Los Lobos. 

Nov. 7 – 8: Floricanto’s Fiesta de Día de los Muertos

The Floricanto Center for Performing Arts and Danza Floricanto will host a Día de los Muertos-themed showcase for its 24th annual program. For one weekend only, the Center will be transformed into a cemetery, and a series of characters, including the show’s guide “La Catrina,” will lead audiences through an evening of storytelling and dance. The showcase will feature themes of love, death, mental illness, teen pregnancy and immigration. Show doors open 30 minutes before showtime.