Celebrate Día De Los Muertos At This Coachella Cemetery

COACHELLA, CA — To honor a Mexican tradition of honoring loved ones who have passed, the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery is opening its gates to celebrate Día de los Muertos with music, food and Folklórico dancers on Nov. 2.

This Saturday, the cemetery will be transformed into a festival of altars decorated with papel picado, marigolds and photographs of those who have died.

The holiday is commemorated by creating an "offenda", the Spanish word for "offerings," which is used to reference altars built to remember and honor the dead.

The cemetery will be "brought to life" with the sounds of Mexican cultural music, Folklórico dancers and traditional food such as Pan de Muerto — a sweet bread associated with Day of the Dead. The special treat is often eaten or left as an offering at the gravestone of a loved one.

"We saw record attendance last year of more than 10,000 people over the two days of traditional celebration," added General Manager, Joshua Bonner. “With November 2 nd being a Saturday this year, we believe we will likely see even larger crowds for this year’s celebration.”

While the celebration will be held on Saturday, the cemetery will be open on Friday until 7 p.m. to observe the holiday.

Gates will open to the public on both days at 7 a.m.