Garlands of handcrafted paper and fresh marigolds drape an
ofrenda, or altar, adorned with candles. The orange petals create
a celestial glow as the smell of the burning copal incense
permeates the air, the smoke dancing into curls as it rises. In
the distance, mounds of dirt lie in rows as representational
graves. For months, volunteers at the Latino Center of Arts &
Culture have prepared El Panteón, one of Sacramento’s
annual Día de los Muertos celebrations, which transforms 2700
Front Street’s grounds into a communal cemetery for remembrance
and joy.
In response to and alongside the Chicano Civil Rights Movement of
the 1970s, La Raza Bookstore opened in 1972 off of 12th and F
streets. The bookstore became a community hub where artists,
activists and culture bearers came together to continue and
treasure cultural traditions. “This is our 16th annual (Panteón).
We are expecting about 30 vendors,” says Bridgètt Rexford, LCAC’s
executive director.
The center officially changed its name to the Latino Center of
Arts & Culture in 2014, continuing its commitment to serve
artists and communities who are marginalized across the Latino
diaspora. Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) is a long-held
Mexican tradition where family members honor those who have
passed through ceremony, gathering and community. Families create
ofrendas with photos of their loved ones, adorned with marigolds,
sugar skulls, papel picado (paper banners that represent the
wind), fruit and small items to celebrate and grieve their
friends and family.
“Originally it started with one vendor, Yolanda’s Tamales, and
just three altars. Last year, 12,000 people attended. It has
expanded exponentially since then at about a thousand people per
year,” Rexford says. Having joined the organization in March, she
has been one of many driving forces behind the event along with
various board members, artists and community members.
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“The cemetery is more than an installation piece, because this
year (it) is going to be open to the public. What we found is
more people were interested in creating altars, and the tumbas
“graves” will allow them to make their altars out there as well.
So instead of 40 altars, we’ll have over 90,” says artist Ruben
Reveles, who has been with the Latino Center for eight years. “In
the current atmosphere, people are searching for something joyful
as well as meaningful. I think that contributed to the increase
in inquiries.”
This year’s El Panteón comes amid a series of event cancellations
throughout the city. In September, the Mexican
Cultural Center of Northern California canceled the
festival portion of its celebration of Mexican Independence Day
known as El Grito. Typically hosted in front of the Capitol, the
event was one of the first to scale down celebrations.
KCRA reported that organizers
said the changes were “due to the current political climate and
concerns for the safety of our community.”
For over a decade Sol Collective has served its
community through activism, art and providing a safe place for
people to gather. Souls of the City is typically one of
Sacramento’s largest Dia de los Muertos events that takes place
in old town Sacramento. Founder, Estella Sanchez of Sol
Collective writes: “After more than a decade of offering Souls of
the City as a free community event, the cost and staffing burden
of producing something at that scale has increasingly fallen on
our nonprofit.
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With overall funding down this year and early planning raising
community safety concerns given the national climate we made the
hard decision to pause, regroup and plan for a stronger return in
2026 with the right resources in place.
Sol Collective is still hosting smaller gatherings, including
harvesting marigolds and hosting sugar skull workshops. Even El
Grito still gathered in solidarity despite cutting the festival
portion of their event.
“It’s about gathering,” Rexford says. “As a new ED, I can’t tell
you how many community members have come up to me asking if we
are going to have El Panteón this year,” she added, explaining
her personal reasons for moving forward with the event despite
the current political climate. “With tears in their eyes, they
told me they needed this. So I made the decision, along with the
support of the board and our partner vendors, to move forward.”
Reveles shares his perspective on the event. “It’s not about
organizations, it’s about people, the community — to see
generations of kids with their grandparents making flowers,
having fun, talking with each other and that’s something people
need. And I want to emphasize that everyone is invited too. Death
happens to all of us,” he explains. “Sometimes in American
society, we don’t talk about death enough. People from all
different cultures can come together. In the Mexican tradition,
it’s very vibrant and colorful, it’s a celebration and a way to
keep talking about them (loved ones who have passed) when
sometimes people feel like they can’t.
“My mother died when I was 4 days old, and my mother that raised
me has also died; a couple friends of mine died in the last
couple of weeks. I’m an artist, and in my community a lot of
poets, musicians have passed.”
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Region, and who owns it?
At the top of tiered ofrenda amongst marigolds, candles and
memorabilia sits a 50-inch screen rotating through faces where
Reveles has asked several community members to contribute photos
of their loved one. “The screen is much bigger than the small
photographs,” he says. “It’s designed to feel more heavenly. I’m
a futurist artist, with a tradition of technology and earth
magic, I’m creating an opening for people’s hearts and souls.”
Earlier in the year, the Latino Center lost an operational grant
of $65,000 when cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts were
made. As a result, they’ve had to increase ticket prices from $5
to $10, but kids are still free. They need more volunteers for
the event days of Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. However, they’ve
had an average of 50 volunteers showing up every Thursday to make
flowers, dig the tumbas and decorate their altars. The festival
will open in Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 31, and go from 6 -9 p.m.
The Celebrations picks up again Saturday, Nov. 1, 12-10 p.m. and
on Sunday runs 12-4 p.m. ending with a closing of portal
ceremony.
Larger-than-life puppets called mojigangas form a vibrant part of
Día de los Muertos parades in Mexico.
Additional celebrations happening around town include the
California Museum’s “Recuerdos
Ilustrados: Día de los Muertos 2025,” exhibiting until Nov.
16, and Sacramento’s Children’s Museum is hosting
Día de los Muertos Community Night on Nov. 1 from 5-7p.m.
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