2/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterCarlos Gonzalez, 42, construction worker
“In Michoacán, where I’m from, performers wear masks made from wood. This one is papier-mâché—I made it myself. I also made the shell skulls—I painted them and glued pins to the backs.”
3/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterCarlos Gonzalez, 42, construction worker
4/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterCarlos Gonzalez, 42, construction worker
5/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterCarlos Gonzalez, 42, construction worker
6/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterPatty Bautista, 29, social worker; Claudia Cardenes, 29, ambulance operation manager
"We're friends from college. We bought these parasols from eBay—they're from China or something. They got here pretty quick considering!"
7/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterClaudia Cardenes, 29, ambulance operation manager
"I got my face painted by a vendor outside the gates. I tipped her five dollars 'cause it turned out so well."
10/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterPatty Bautista, 29, social worker
"A friend of mine made my costume for me—I saw something similar online and bought the fabric I wanted."
11/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterPatty Bautista, 29, social worker
12/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterGabriel Caleca, 18, student
"I already had this jacket—I found it a while ago at the Salvation Army and bought it thinking, 'this will come in handy someday.'"
16/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterBobby Aceves aka Maleficent, 25, tattoo artist; Scott Haverstock aka Sister Odora Flatulotta D’Pew, 42, social worker; Ira Savely aka Alotta Hookah, 35, banker
"We're here from Arizona—we're the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. We raise money for all sorts of things: LGBT charities, HIV awareness... our Los Angeles sisters are around here somewhere, they just did an event to raise money for a volunteer fire department."
17/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterBobby Aceves aka Maleficent, 25, tattoo artist
22/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterJackie Leguizamo, 36, fashion designer; Javier Leguizamo, 36, graphic designer; Roman Leguizamo, 5, kindergartner
"This is our first time here—we made the masks ourselves."
23/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterRoman Leguizamo, 5, kindergartner
"[The celebration] is good I guess. I helped make my mask!"
27/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterJames Barker, 55, “retired and loving it”
"I'm here with my partner, David. We came up from Long Beach; it's our first time. I saw this tie and thought, 'gotta have it.'"
28/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterJames Barker, 55, “retired and loving it”
29/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterJames Barker, 55, “retired and loving it”
30/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterJeshua Viveiros, 22, ballet dancer
"I made the jeans myself. I used spray fabric dye and a paintbrush to create the ombre look."
33/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterKate Amundeen, 24, model
"I bought the flowers at Michael's and made the headdress myself. I chose to dress up as Frida [Kahlo] because I love her style, and she's a super cool woman with a great story to tell."
34/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterKate Amundeen, 24, model
35/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterKate Amundeen, 24, model
36/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterKate Amundeen, 24, model
37/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterKweli Walker, 61, electrician and erotica writer
"I painted this big smiling mouth because I'm a happy person!"
38/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterKweli Walker, 61, electrician and erotica writer
39/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterStephanie Shaw, 49, painter and textile jewelry-maker
"The dress is vintage Mexican. The belt isn't from Mexico... it might be Eastern European, but who cares, it's so awesome! For my jewelry, there's a Mexican wedding necklace, as well as a Tibetan medicine necklace, a Fijian necklace, an African ring—wow, I'm so multicultural!"
40/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterStephanie Shaw, 49, painter and textile jewelry-maker
41/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterStephanie Shaw, 49, painter and textile jewelry-maker
42/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterStephanie Shaw, 49, painter and textile jewelry-maker
43/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterStephanie Shaw, 49, painter and textile jewelry-maker
44/44Photograph: Jake Giles NetterStephanie Shaw, 49, painter and textile jewelry-maker
Día de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery is the city's (and state's) largest Day of the Dead celebration—and therefore one of the best spots to show off some spooky street style, whether it be cross-dressing, costumes or painted faces. Here, the fete's most fashionable finds.
"Dia de Muertos", not Día de los muertos, is a Mexican tradition dating back more than 3000 years, and blended with Catholicism much later, became this celebrations, "Dia de todos los Santos" or "All saints day" and "Dia de los fieles difuntos" or "Day of the faithful dead" on November 1 and 2.
It is not creepy at all. Altars are constructed colorfully with offerings of food, specially bread and sugar sculls, candy, fruit in offering for all our past ancestors. It really is a very amazing experience if you get to go to Mexico for this, specially Oaxaca, Michoacan or Veracruz. The cemeterys come alive with the orange glow of all the candles, the smoke of incense, the colorful adornments and specially a flower called "cempasuchil " which despite of being native to the Americas, it is also knows and African Marigold.
"Dia de Muertos", not Día de los muertos, is a Mexican tradition dating back more than 3000 years, and blended with Catholicism much later, became this celebrations, "Dia de todos los Santos" or "All saints day" and "Dia de los fieles difuntos" or "Day of the faithful dead" on November 1 and 2. It is not creepy at all. Altars are constructed colorfully with offerings of food, specially bread and sugar sculls, candy, fruit in offering for all our past ancestors. It really is a very amazing experience if you get to go to Mexico for this, specially Oaxaca, Michoacan or Veracruz. The cemeterys come alive with the orange glow of all the candles, the smoke of incense, the colorful adornments and specially a flower called "cempasuchil " which despite of being native to the Americas, it is also knows and African Marigold.