Self Help Graphics & Art’s 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Season
AN ANNUAL TRADITION
free • all ages • ALTARS • SHOP MUERTOS MARKET + FOOD VENDORS • ART WORKSHOPS •FACE PAINTING •
LIVE MUSIC, DANCE, & MORE!
Self Help Graphics & Art is excited to announce that its 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration will take place just outside our Boyle Heights home, block party style, on Saturday, November 7, 2026! While we will reopen our doors in 2027, join us as we begin our homecoming to our Boyle Heights neighborhood.
Details:
Procession
1:45 -3 PM
Mariachi Plaza
1831 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Celebration
3-10 PM
Self Help Graphics & Art | Outdoors
1300 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033
* Outdoors on the block of Anderson Street, right outside Self Help Graphics & Art’s Boyle Heights building
GENERAL QUESTIONS & PRESS INQUIRIES
To inquire about becoming a season sponsor or press requests regarding Self Help Graphics’ 53rd Annual Season’s workshops, celebration, and related events, please email press@selfhelpgraphics.com.
For general questions, email info@selfhelpgraphics.com.
Self Help Graphics & Art’s 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration
Self Help Graphics & Art’s 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration will start with a procession at 2 PM, led by Grupo Chicomecoatl. Join us as we continue this longtime tradition and walk from Mariachi Plaza to our permanent home on the corner of 1st Street and Anderson Street, where the celebration will take place outdoors on the block of Anderson Street from 3-10 PM.
This year’s communal gathering will feature live music and dance as ofrendas (offerings) to our ancestors, community altars of remembrance and resistance by local community members, Muertos Market featuring local artists and artisans, Self Help Graphics prints for sale, local food vendors, face painting, art activities, and more!
This year, Self Help Graphics & Art is honored to participate in Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals, a community of festivals across the country showcasing the nation’s remarkable cultural landscape. This partnership brings the spirit of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival—the institution’s largest and longest-running event— to community festivals in several states and territories across the country. As one of the longest-running public celebrations of Día de los Muertos in the United States, this year’s celebration stays true to its social justice roots. We honor our ancestors and uplift the living communities they nurtured through immersive, intercultural programming — free and for all-ages.
PROCESSION
[ 2 PM - 3 PM]
Meet up: 2pm
Procession walk: 2:30pm
This year’s procession will be led by Self Help Graphics & Art’s Youth Committee and Grupo Chicomecoatl. Please join us in the ceremony as we honor indigenous traditions and pay homage to our ancestors through the 4 elements. We will begin at Mariachi Plaza (1831 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033) and collectively move down 1st Street, where the outdoor celebration will take place. Come dressed up, grab a paper cempasuchil, and march with the community as we open Self Help Graphics & Art’s 53rd Día De Los Muertos Celebration!
Self Help Graphics & Art’s 2026-27 Youth Committee has been hard at work preparing for our 53rd Día de los Muertos Celebration! Throughout the month, youth members have been experimenting with different art forms and taking an active role in bringing this year’s festivities to life. Through multimedia exploration and collaborative work, the group has been creating a hand-painted photo booth, restoring paper mache props, and helping plan the procession ceremony. These projects offer opportunities for members to develop their artistic skills while contributing to a longstanding community tradition.
During the celebration, Youth Committee members will engage directly with the community by helping lead the procession ceremony, welcoming visitors to the photo booth, capturing memories, and volunteering across various event activities. From behind the scenes preparations to on the ground participation, the Youth Committee plays an important role in creating a welcoming and memorable celebration. Their contributions reflect the power of youth creativity while keeping cultural traditions alive and meaningful for future generations.
MAIN STAGE
[ 3 PM - 10 PM]
This year’s celebration features a performance lineup curated by Grammy Award winning Chicane producer, composer, musician, and cultural organizer Quetzal Flores.
FEATURING:
8:35 PM: GRAMMY Award-winning East Los Angeles legends Los Lobos
7:05 PM: GRAMMY Award-winning La Santa Cecilia
5:50 PM: Jimetta Rose and the Voices of Creation
4:45 PM: Extra Ancestral
4 PM: The Red Alibi
3:30 PM: Mendez High School Mariachi
3:10 PM: Grupo Chicomecoatl
And DJ sets by Chulita Vinyl Club LA throughout the celebration.
STORY SHARING STAGE
[3:30 PM - 7 PM]
This year’s celebration features a storytelling stage, where culture stewards honor the legacy of ancestral memory through the art of storytelling.
FEATURING:
Rosanna Esparza Ahrens
Virginia Carmelo
Ofelia Esparza
Nobuko Miyamoto
Michael D. McCarty
Margarita Gonzalez
CAMINO DE ALTARES
[3 PM - 7 PM]
Historically, our community altars at SHG draw from traditional and contemporary practices and art forms that honor our ancestors and address realities that our communities navigate. This year, our altars touch on these at both a local and global scale. Some altars center recent events felt particularly by our Eastside communities, including the Lineage Fire and ICE raids. Other altars take on a transnational lens: connecting our local struggles to the movement to stop femicides and the fight for land and water fights. Through our altars, we hope community members take time to reflect on ongoing justice movements and honor ancestors highlighted in these installations.
FEATURED ALTAR MAKERS:
Monica Olmos
Juan Mendoza
Centro CSO
Mirella Flores
Calavera De Oro
AF3IRM Los Angeles
Norma y Edgar Coronado
Colectivo Poder Comunitaro
Juana Mena Ochoa
SHG X Eastside LEADS' 2026 Youth Artivists
Montebello Park Elementary School
Latinx with Plants
Boyle Heights Beat/ LA Local
DROP- IN WORKSHOPS
[ 3 PM - 7 PM]
FEATURING:
Sugarskull Magnets with the National Museum of the American Latino
“Memorias y Cuentos” (Memories and Stories), a mobile interview station with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Nichos (miniature altars) and jewelry boxes with Izzy Jaquez, SHG Teaching Artist
Sombra de Muertos, a Day of the Dead shadow design on paper workshop with Joan Zamora, SHG Teaching Artist
MUERTOS MARKET
[ 3 PM - 10 PM]
Explore the Muertos Market, showcasing the work of local artists and artisans.
FEATURING:
Michi's Artistry, ex-voto design, Nubeá, nature is your beauty, Jimmy Saldivar , FacePaint Fever, Viva Las Calaveras, Mextica, House of Divinity-Araseli Silva Jewelry, The LA Garden, Xti’ artisan, Mis Nopales, and more!
Self Help Graphics & Art’s 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos SEASON EVENTS
NOCHE DE OFRENDA
Sunday, November 1, 2026 | 6 PM - 11 PM
Tonalli Studios
4539 E Cesar E Chavez Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90022
Doors open at 6 PM | Program begins at 7 PM
Gathering continues until 11 PM
Presented by Tonalli Studio and Self Help Graphics & Art, join us for Noche de Ofrenda, an evening honoring our ancestors through altars, memory, and connection. We will share light refreshments, poetry, and memories of loved ones, celebrating the lives of those who came before us through communal memory.
Tonalli Studio’s powerful exhibition WHAT WE CARRY: From East L.A. to Palestine will be on view. This offering reflects on our common connections and necessary solidarity, from our ICE-ravaged neighborhoods here in the U$ to the devastated Gaza Strip.
Bring the names, memories, and stories of those you wish to honor.
Featuring poetry by:
Ron Baca
Diosa Xochiquetzalcoatl
Gloria Enedina Alvarez with Greg Hernandez
And music by:
Familia Gonzalez Flores
SHG’s Día de los Muertos exhibition: Monarchs & Migration: Honoring Our Immigrant Legacies
Presented by Self Help Graphics & Art in partnership with LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
On view: October 24- December 6, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 24, 2026, 5-8 PM
CURATORIAL WALKTHROUGH & PANEL DISCUSSION: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2026, 6-9 PM
Monarchs and Migration: Honoring Our Immigrant Legacies explores both the natural reality of migration and humanity’s response to it—from butterflies to family journeys, the burden immigrants carry as they travel toward an unknown and often hostile future. Together, these works consider human movement as natural, constant and perilous. This exhibition is also about remembering and honoring our dead and the impact each has made on those left behind, acknowledging that they too have traveled into an unknown land.
ARTISTS:
Jose Antonio Aguirre, Lalo Alcaraz, Linda Arreola, Raul Baltazar, Paul Botello, Gaby Claro, Mita Cuaron, Victoria Delgadillo, Alex Donis & Ana Maria Donis, Ofelia Esparza, Rosanna Esparza Ahrens, Consuelo G. Flores, Alaín Flores Norte, Gian Flores Norte, Joe Galarza, Emilia García, Yolanda Gonzalez, Wayne Healy, Willie Herrón, Kalli Arte Collective, Leo Limon, Will Loya, Poli Marichal, Álvaro D. Márquez, Jessica Monares, Armando Norte, Moni Perez, Rose Portillo, Antonio Rael, Andrea Ramirez "Mextica", Jose Ramirez, Artemio Rodriguez, Julie Rodriguez, Sandy Rodriguez, Sonia Romero, Ginette Rondeau, Jaqueline Sanders, Marissa Magdalena Sykes, Eloy Torrez, Peter Tovar, and Linda Vallejo.
Consuelo G. Flores, Monarchs and Migration: Children at the Boarder of Freedom, 2026
Screenprint, 26.5” x 20” sheet. Artwork photograph by Eric Jaipal.
SHG’S 2026 DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS COMMEMORATIVE PRINT
BY CONSUELO G. FLORES
Self Help Graphics & Art’s 2026 Día de Los Muertos Commemorative Print is Monarchs and Migration: Children at the Boarder of Freedom, by Consuelo G. Flores. This serigraph is dedicated to children who came to the U.S. seeking freedom but ultimately died in detention in U.S. Border Patrol centers.
Regarding the print, Flores says, “The focus of this print is on the children featured and the potential that was lost when they died in the hands of Border Patrol custody. This is a call back and reminder to our immigrant past, of the many transplants from other countries, of my own siblings who entered this country as children.”
Consuelo has been a part of the SHG community for more than 45 years. This is the first serigraph she’s made, produced in SHG’s Professional Printmaking Studio. This year’s Dia de los Muertos Commemorative Print inspired the title and the themes of our 2026 Día de los Muertos exhibition, Monarchs and Migration: Honoring Our Immigrant Legacies, which will feature the print as well as other artworks and altars. To learn more about the process behind Consuelo’s print, including her longtime relationship with SHG and Día de los Muertos, we invite you to check out this condensed interview, which includes a short video.
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS COMMUNITY ART WORKSHOP SERIES
Saturday, October 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31, 2026 | 12-3 PM
East Los Angeles Library | Community Room
4837 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90022
The Día de los Muertos season kicks off in October with five free Saturday community art workshops at the East Los Angeles Library. Guided by SHG teaching artists, participants of all ages will create Día de los Muertos crafts to honor our ancestors and loved ones. All workshops are free and open to all ages, and all materials are provided. Each week features a special project but all workshops will include a papel picado (tissue paper with cutout shapes) and a paper marigold craft activity.
Saturday, October 3: Stamp Collages
REGISTER HERE
Saturday, October 10: Calavera (Skull) Masks
REGISTER HERE
Saturday, October 17: Day of the Dead Recuerdo (Memory) Posters
REGISTER HERE
Saturday, October 24: “Living candle” mini paintings
REGISTER HERE
Saturday, October 31: Candle Decorating
REGISTER HERE
SHG’S 53RD ANNUAL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS SEASON IN THE PRESS
September 30, 2026, Calo News: Free art workshops, Los Lobos and Santa Cecilia to celebrate Día de Muertos at Self Help Graphics & Art
September 30, 2026, Boyle Heights Beat: Self Help Graphics & Art’s Día de los Muertos celebration returns to Boyle Heights
October 1, 2026, Hoodline: Self Help Graphics Brings Día de los Muertos Home to Boyle Heights After Years Away
October 2, 2026, LA Times: L.A. arts and culture this weekend
October 20, 2026, The Eastsider LA: Your 2026 Eastside guide to Halloween & Dia De Los Muertos
October 20, 2026, FOX 11 Los Angeles: Free community Día de los Muertos events
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: 250,” a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years.
VIEW OUR COLLECTION OF DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
Commemorative PrintS ON OUR ONLINE SHOP
VOLUNTEER
Ready to help? Volunteers are a crucial component to SHG's year-round programming, including Día de los Muertos season.
We have multiple opportunities for volunteers
interested in donating their time to the event.
EXPLORE OUR PAST Día de los Muertos CELEBRATIONS
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The 52nd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration, in partnership with LA County Board of Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, took place on Saturday, November 21 from 3 PM-8 PM at the LA County Civic Center Park. More information here.
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The 51st Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration, in partnership with LA County Board of Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, took place on Saturday, November 2 from 3 PM-8 PM at the LA County Civic Center Park. More information here.
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The 50th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration, in partnership with LA County Board of Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, took place on Saturday, November 4 from 3 PM-8 PM at the LA County Civic Center Park. More information here.
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The 49th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration took place on Saturday, November 5 from 4 PM-10 PM at Self Help Graphics & Art. More information here.