Tag: day of the dead

Sad Boy Anthems in a Cemetery

Another October/November brought another Día de Muertos festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. This year’s edition was my first time attending since 2017. The event was packed with people, but not as dense since it was split in half:a daytime festival focused on cultural, family events and a nighttime festival focused on live music.

As in years past, the altars were amazing, the food was delicious and the music was incredible. It was great to finally watch Ed Maverick perform live in concert after years of being a fan of his work. Here is an excerpt I wrote about Maverick and the festival:

Maverick didn’t have too much to say between songs and let his music do most of the talking. However, when he did speak to the crowd, he had to pause with a smile and wait for the lull between screaming and cheering fans to be heard. He ended the night with a lengthy guitar solo that cemented his newfound status as a rock star and new king of the sad boys.

Read the story in full + enjoy photos of the event here: https://showbams.com/2022/11/04/dia-y-noche-de-los-muertos-returns-to-hollywood-forever-creating-a-cathartic-experience-with-ed-maverick-hermanos-gutierrez-more/

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Presents 17th Annual Dia De Los Muertos Celebration

Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s Dia De Los Muertos celebration, the largest Day of the Dead celebration outside of Mexico, returns for its 17th edition.

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This year’s theme is “El Arbol De La Vida/The Tree Of Life,” with a focus on sculptural traditions of the town of Metepec near Toluca de Lerdo.

Music this year will be provided by:

Julieta Venegas

Buyepongo

Alejandro y Maria Laura

Mitre

Mariachi Flor De Toloache

Here’s my rundown of last year’s event, which celebrated the culture of Mexico’s indigenous Huichol people, visited by 40,000 people and featured musicals artists Lila Downs, Xavier Quijas Yxayotl, Huichol Musical, and others.

More info at ladayofthedead.com.

Los Abandoned: A Chronicle of a Reunion/Resurrection

Los Abandoned was a latin alternative rock group from L.A. that quit before it had a real chance to thrive. Their debut album Mixtape showed lots of promise from the talented quartet but, unfortunately, a number of issues led to their abrupt and sudden dissolution in October 2007.

Thankfully, Ricky Garay and Mucho Music convinced Los Abandoned to reunite for a special, one-time-only Day Of The Dead resurrection concert. I spent a good portion of the past two weeks covering the band for LA Weekly and Remezcla. Stories and photos are linked below:

Los Abandoned To Perform For The Last Time, Again:

The group had ruminated on a reunion since last year, when conflicting schedules forced them to turn down a benefit performance in Chile. They kept the dialogue open until earlier this year when Mucho Events promoter Ricky Garay brought everyone around to his idea for a Day of the Dead reunion.

Garay’d had the idea since promoting a few shows for Diaz’ solo project. “I would always casually mention it,” said Garay, “but I would never bug them about it because I knew it was a personal thing. It was something that I was trying to wrap up before we left La Cita.”

Q&A: Los Abandoned, One Night Resurrection Only:

We were very honored by [Gustavo Arellano] putting us such on a high pedestal. We worked for so many years and we went through so much just to get the little that we had in the economic sense, but it all paid off when we’d get great write-ups and people telling us that they were influenced by us, or that we helped them get through a breakup, or helped them feel better about themselves. We had a big queer following and there were a lot of kids that came out of the closet and thanked us because our music helped them do that. It was those things that made it all worthwhile when we were all living on sleeping bags on the floor.

Los Abandoned – The Echoplex – 10-28-11:

Los Abandoned took a 20 minute intermission after the second encore, and returned to the stage covered in zombie make-up and fake blood. Verde kicked off their final set — a bunch of covers — with the opening lick to Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party.”

They finished with Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me.” All of it had me secretly hoping that more bands would break up, so that they could later reunite for a proper send-off.

Photos// Los Abandoned @ The Echoplex, LA: One Night Only Resurrection: