La Vida Yaya

  Danza Azteca Xocoyote at the Autry's iVivan Los Muertos! Photo by Abel Gutierrez It's that time of year when we pay tribute to our dearly departed and celebrate their lives. If you didn't grow up with the holiday and would like to learn more about it, now is your chance! There are many wonderful Day of the Dead events around town this year. So many organizations are putting on great celebrations and making this holiday THE Mexican holiday of the year. Forget about el Cinco de Drinko. That's just a Budweiser holiday about a battle that Mexico itself doesn't even celebrate. Mexican Independence is great, but I really despise the legions of vendors armed with single-servings ready to chuck them at you as you wait in a line 50-deep at these celebrations, or the heavy advertising for beer and cheese, much less the the large crowds clamoring for freebies or a turn at spinning a wheel to win a full-size bottle of Ajax. The enormous amount of corporate vendors dilute ...

By the time you get to my age, you start losing people in your life that are near and dear to you. It's surreal to think that people you've shared wonderful times with are no longer with you. I don't know if I even comprehend it all or if I just refuse to think of their absence as permanent. Maybe my belief in life after death helps me to remember that I will see them again someday. I expect my older relatives and friends of  the family to pass on without much of a tear drop but when it happens to someone young or under 65 even, it hits hard. You feel  time stop, your skin tingle, and your pulse race when you get the news. I often think about what happens after you die or what will my family do with my body. Will I be buried or burned. Will my daughter carry around my ashes in a locket or will I be put up on a mantle for the cat the tip over. Maybe someone might find my bones 1,000 years from now to study and they'll name me Lucy. Or worse, I'll be flooded out of m...

Hollywood Forever presents the 10th annual Dia De Los Muertos Celebration Saturday, October 24th, 2009  Admission $10.00 - 12 years & under are free. The celebration features: *The procession will begin with an Aztec Ritual Blessing and will continue with a traditional “Oaxacan Burial” that represents the suffering of death and it concludes on stage welcoming the spirits to celebrate. *The community honors their beloved that have passed away by creating altars as offerings throughout the cemetery. *Art exhibit in the Cathedral Mausoleum featuring work by the Linares Family and many more. *The world premier of the film “La Fiesta Eterna”, a film about the tradition of Dia De Los Muertos. *Children’s Area where kids can learn about this ancient celebration though art, including traditional face painting. Gates open at 4:00 PM Gates Close at 11:00 PM Lila Downs at 9:00 PM The public can call 323.447.0999 for more information. Location Address: Hollywood Forever C...