Photos: Dia de los Muertos preparations - Los Angeles Times
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Photos: Dia de los Muertos preparations

A man stands amid flowers.
Jose Espitia amid marigolds at Mi Rancho Conejo in the Ventura County community of Somis.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
By Gary Coronado
 and Francine Orr
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The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a holiday traditionally celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2, though other days, such as Oct. 31 or Nov. 6, may be included. It involves family and friends gathering to pay respects to those who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased with marigolds and altars.

A woman with flowers and pictures near graves.
Ana Cuevas, 51, of Norwalk at Calvary Cemetery and Mortuary in East Los Angeles. She built an altar to honor 14 of her relatives and friends who have died. Cuevas cried while telling how she lost her 88-year-old grandmother and 1-year-old nephew to COVID last year. At the cemetery on Saturday will be a Dia de los Muertos event, with a Mass at noon and a celebration at 1:30 p.m.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
A man and a woman with flowers.
Zeferino Garcia and his wife, Maria Francisco, prepare flowers at La Mayordomia in Los Angeles for the Day of the Dead.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A man with flowers.
Octavio Gurrola at Calvary Cemetery and Mortuary in East Los Angeles hangs marigolds inside a mausoleum doorway.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman at a grave.
Araceli Gonzalez of Echo Park leaves flowers at the grave of her mother, Rosa Maria Gonzalez, at Calvary Cemetery and Mortuary in East Los Angeles.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
A bee sits on a marigold.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A woman inside a mausoleum.
Ana Cuevas decorates a mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery and Mortuary in East Los Angeles.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday that commemorates loved ones who have died.
Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday that commemorates loved ones who have died. An altar at Calvary Cemetery on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in East Los Angeles, CA. Tomorrow there will be a Dia de Los Muertos Community Day celebration at the cemetery including a Mass at noon, the blessing of alters, music and folklorico dance at 1:30 pm.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

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Gary Coronado

Gary Coronado was a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times from 2016-24. He is a 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist in feature photography for images of Central Americans risking life and limb as they jump aboard the trains from southern Mexico bound for the United States and a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist in breaking news photography for team coverage of hurricanes. He began freelancing for the Orange County Register and relocated to South Florida in 2001, when he was awarded a fellowship through the Freedom Forum. Coronado grew up in Southern California and graduated from USC.

Francine Orr

Francine Orr was a staff photojournalist for the Los Angeles Times from 2000-24. She is currently a Knight fellow at the Graduate School of Visual Communication at Ohio University. Previously, she was a staff photographer at the Kansas City Star. Orr served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. While there, she learned how to be a quiet observer and gained a love for stories. She was raised in Colorado and earned bachelor’s degrees in both history and art from the University of Saint Mary. In 2022, Orr received the coveted Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma and the National Headliner Award. She also won the 2020 Meyer “Mike†Berger and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in feature photography in 2012.

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