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Self Help Graphics & Art’s Día de los Muertos celebration returns to Boyle Heights
Dancers perform Danza Azteca at Mariachi Plaza during a procession for the Self Help Graphics & Art Día de los Muertos celebration.
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Courtesy of Self Help Graphics & Art
)
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
The annual Día de los Muertos celebration by Self Help Graphics & Art is coming home to Boyle Heights this year.
The block party will be held Nov. 7 outside its building on 1st and Anderson streets, and will feature live performances by Los Lobos and La Santa Cecilia.
Self Help Graphics has been under renovation for years, with its Día de los Muertos celebration often held at the East LA Civic Center. The building is expected to reopen in 2027.
“Día de los Muertos at Self Help Graphics has always been a homecoming — a day when our community gathers to remember our loved ones through art, music, and ceremony,” said Self Help Graphics executive director Paulina Flores in a statement. “This year, that word carries even more meaning as we celebrate block-party style on Anderson Street and begin our return to our Boyle Heights home.”
The 12,000-square-foot building is being transformed into a cultural center that meets museum standards, featuring seismic retrofitting, an expanded printmaking studio, upgraded gallery lighting and a larger multipurpose room for community gatherings.
A key player in the Chicano movement of the 1970s, Self Help Graphics & Art was founded in the East LA garage of Sister Karen Boccalero, a Franciscan nun and printmaker. It started with a small group of young Latino artists who used their medium to spread social justice messages.
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From the onset, these artists involved members of the community in the process of making art and organizing programs, such as a 1972 Día de los Muertos event considered to be the first public commemoration in the United States of a tradition rooted in Mexico’s Indigenous origins. Community art workshops will also be offered this year.
Here’s what to know:
53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration
Attendees will have an opportunity to record interviews with community members at an oral history station hosted by the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Self Help Graphics teaching artists will help attendees create miniature altars.
Details:
2 p.m. — A ceremonial procession featuring Aztec dancers will guide attendees from Mariachi Plaza to Self Help Graphics & Art
3 - 10 p.m. — The celebration will feature live music, community altars and the Muertos Market with local artists and artisans. There will be Self Help Graphics prints for sale, local food vendors, face painting and craft workshops led by the National Museum of the American Latino.When: Saturday, Nov. 7, from 2- 10 p.m.
Where: Anderson Street, just outside 1300 E. 1st St. in Boyle Heights.
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Community art workshop series
Self Help Graphics & Art is offering a series of Día de los Muertos community art workshops from 12 to 3 p.m. beginning this Saturday.
Where: East Los Angeles County Library, Community Room, 4837 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90022
Oct. 3: Stamp collages with Dewey Tafoya
Oct.10: Calavera masks featuring a design by artist Leo Limon
Oct.17: Recuerdo posters with Victoria Delgadillo
Oct. 24: “Living candle” mini paintings with Ivan Zuno
Oct. 31: Candle decorating with Nupur Behera
Admission: It’s free for all ages, with materials included.
Registration: selfhelpgraphics.com/diadelosmuertos
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