Thursday, 24 September 2026 12:00 PM
Partnerships
A season of free community workshops begins October 3, culminating in the November 7 celebration in Boyle Heights
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / September 24, 2026 / Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG) today announced its 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration, taking place block-party style on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 3 to 10 PM just outside its Boyle Heights home (on the block of Anderson Street, right outside of 1300 E. 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033).
This year's celebration is presented by SHG in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino as part of Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals, and features a performance lineup curated by Quetzal Flores and headlined by GRAMMY Award-winning East Los Angeles legends Los Lobos and GRAMMY Award-winning La Santa Cecilia, with Jimetta Rose and the Voices of Creation, Extra Ancestral, Chulita Vinyl Club, and more.
As SHG prepares to reopen its doors in 2027, this year's celebration marks the beginning of its homecoming to the Boyle Heights neighborhood. One of the longest-running public commemorations of Día de los Muertos in the United States, the celebration stays true to its social justice roots - honoring ancestors and uplifting the living communities they nurtured through immersive, intercultural programming that is free and open to all ages.
"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 Paulina Flores, SHG Executive Director. "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. Collaborating with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the National Museum of the American Latino affirms what East LA has always known: our traditions belong to the people who keep them alive."
The day begins at 2 PM with a ceremonial procession, in which traditional Aztec dancers will guide attendees from Mariachi Plaza (1831 E. 1st St.) to SHG. The celebration follows from 3-10 PM, featuring traditional Aztec dance, live music, community altars of remembrance and resistance, the Muertos Market featuring local artists and artisans, SHG prints for sale - including this year's commemorative print by Consuelo G. Flores, produced with Lead Printer Dewey Tafoya - local food vendors, face painting, art activities, and more.
Throughout the celebration, the National Museum of the American Latino will lead drop-in Día de los Muertos craft workshops, and the Folklife Festival's "We Hold These Truths" oral history station will invite attendees to record interviews with community members significant to the tradition of Día de los Muertos in Los Angeles and beyond. Guided by SHG teaching artists, attendees can also create nichos (miniature altars) and jewelry boxes with Izzy Jaquez or paper lanterns with Joan Zamora.
"The Día de los Muertos celebration embodies one of the Smithsonian Festival of Festivals themes this year, which is ‘remembering together,' specifically how communities gather to honor loved ones, ancestors, and histories," says Sabrina Lynn Motley, director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. "And as native Angelena, the opportunity to collaborate with our friends at Self Help Graphics, to be a part of their homecoming, and to bring the Smithsonian's national initiative to Boyle Heights is particularly meaningful."
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS COMMUNITY ART WORKSHOP SERIES
The Día de los Muertos season kicks off in October with five free Saturday community art workshops at the East Los Angeles County Library (Community Room, 4837 E. 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90022), each from 12-3 PM. Guided by SHG teaching artists, participants of all ages will explore traditional Día de los Muertos crafts - including papel picado and paper marigolds - as they create artworks honoring their ancestors and loved ones. Each week features a special project:
- Saturday, October 3 - Make Día de los Muertos stamp collages
- Saturday, October 10 - Make Día de los Muertos calavera (skull) masks
- Saturday, October 17 - Create Día de los Muertos recuerdo (memory) posters
- Saturday, October 24 - Paint Día de los Muertos "living candle" mini paintings
- Saturday, October 31 - Decorate Día de los Muertos candles
All workshops are free and open to all ages, and all materials are provided. Registration and full season details: selfhelpgraphics.com/diadelosmuertos.
About Self Help Graphics & Art
Self Help Graphics & Art is dedicated to the production, interpretation, and distribution of prints and other art media by Chicana/o and Latinx artists. Through multidisciplinary and intergenerational programs, SHG promotes artistic excellence and empowers community by providing access to space, tools, training, and resources. Founded and rooted in Boyle Heights since 1970, SHG has served for more than 50 years as a cultural epicenter and cornerstone of Chicana/o and Latinx artistic production in Los Angeles, and is home to one of the largest collections of Chicana/o and Latinx fine art prints in the country. More than half a century later, SHG remains a living institution: advancing emerging artists through world-class printmaking, preserving a cultural archive that bridges generations, and leading with the conviction that art is a catalyst for social change.
About the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, inaugurated in 1967 in Washington, D.C., honors contemporary living cultural traditions and celebrates those who practice and sustain them. Produced annually by the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the festival has featured participants from all 50 states and more than 100 countries.
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.
About the National Museum of the American Latino
Established by Congress in 2020, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino is an active museum that advances the understanding and appreciation of Latino history and culture in the United States. Through exhibitions, programs, research, collections and educational initiatives, the museum honors the dreams, challenges and achievements of Latinos and illuminates their essential contributions to the American story. The museum presents exhibitions at the Molina Family Latino Gallery in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and engages communities nationwide through in-person and digital experiences while planning for a permanent building continues. Learn more at latino.si.edu and follow @USLatinoMuseum on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
PRESS CONTACT
Kara Brock, [email protected]
SOURCE: Self Help Graphics & Art