Latin Heat News Services

Aztec dance troupe Huitzilopochtli. Photo by Cindy Marie Jenkins. Courtesy: Lucy Pollak Public Relations

The 24th Street Theatre’s annual Día e los Muertos block party is moving online. The virtual event allows people to celebrate the joyous tradition of Mexico’s most famous holiday from the comfort and safety of their homes on Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. (Pacific Time), 9 p.m. (Eastern Time) at www.24thStreet.org.

Hosted by actor Gabriel Romero, the virtual festival will feature special guests including master conguero, bandleader and vocalist Louie Cruz Beltran and his ensemble; Xochi Flores and Cesar Castro and their son Jarocho-Chicano Cambalache; Aztec dance troupe Huitzilopochtli; ballet folklórico Sol de Fuego; and Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor Edward James Olmos (Selena, Stand and Deliver, Battlestar Galactica)

Louie Beltran Cruz. Photo: Courtesy of artist

The event will also include: the presentation of Las Instrucciones, a short film about a man who builds an altar to connect, celebrate and remember; virtual workshops such as “How to Build a Small Day of the Dead Altar in Your Home” and “Face Painting for Day of the Dead;” and a “man on the street” check-in with celebrations in Mexico City. Also makin an appearance will be Los Angeles City Council members Gil Cedillo and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who have partnered with 24th Street Theatre to make this event possible.

24th Street Theatre’s Día de los Muertos virtual block party is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Featured photo: Host Gabriel Romero / Credit: Cooper Bates. Courtesy: Lucy Pollak Public Relations