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The 8 best Día de Muertos celebrations in the U.S., ranked

From Hollywood Forever's 26-year tradition to Chicago's museum-anchored altars, eight Día de Muertos celebrations worth traveling for

Nick Fewings / Unsplash

Día de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, shouldn’t be confused with Halloween. It offers families across Mexico and people of Mexican heritage worldwide a chance to celebrate the lives of departed loved ones with costumed parades, cemetery visits, food, and music.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the US ranks among the best places in the world to join in the festivities. During this colorful, multi-day holiday, families create ofrendas, or altars, in their homes, with photos of the deceased, plates of favorite foods, and other treasured objects meant to guide souls home on the night when the boundaries between the spirit world and the living world are said to dissolve. Many cities across the US host colorful, costumed parades, with many participants dressed as the elegant skeleton figure known as La Catrina, while families of Mexican heritage come together and head to cemeteries to clean up family grave sites and leave offerings for lost friends and relatives.

The 8 celebrations below appear on Lonely Planet and cover the best Día de Muertos celebrations in the US for anyone unable to make it to the famous festivities in Mexico City or Oaxaca. Several of these celebrations trace back decades, from Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s 26-year tradition to Austin’s Viva La Vida Festival, which has run continuously since Mexic-Arte Museum’s founding in 1984, giving each city’s programming depth built through years of community investment rather than a recent addition to the local events calendar. Cultural institutions play an outsized role too, whether that means Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art or Austin’s Mexic-Arte Museum, both of which anchor their city’s celebrations in real art historical scholarship alongside the festivities themselves, giving visitors a real chance to learn something new and truly meaningful as they celebrate.

1. Los Angeles anchors the biggest US Día de Muertos scene

Credit: Los Angeles Tourism

Almost half the population of Los Angeles carries Latino heritage, so it comes as little surprise that the city hosts some of the country’s biggest Día de Muertos events, with a focus on the districts that the city’s proud Mexican community calls home.

In downtown Los Angeles, shopkeepers on Olvera Street celebrate Día de Muertos with community altars, face painting and costumed performances. Events run from October 25 to November 2, and activities vary day to day, offering a vibrant taste of Día de Muertos as it's celebrated across the border, just 140 miles south.

On the last Saturday before November 2, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Santa Monica Blvd hosts one of the largest Día de Muertos celebrations in the US. Hollywood Forever is famous as the final resting place of countless Hollywood stars, from Rudolph Valentino to Judy Garland, and the celebration there features Aztec dancers, live music, art exhibitions, and more than 100 altars.

Anyone wanting to dress up should follow the lead of Latino participants when it comes to attire. Dressing as a skeleton or La Catrina fits the spirit of the occasion, while coming as a slasher-movie character does not. Hollywood Forever Cemetery has hosted its Día de Muertos celebration since 2000, and the event has grown into the largest of its kind in the United States, drawing roughly 30,000 attendees each year to walk among the graves of Hollywood legends like Cecil B. DeMille and Mickey Rooney. The tradition began as a modest gathering before Hollywood Forever became one of the first American cemeteries to formally embrace the celebration, at a time when other local cemeteries hesitated to welcome such a colorful, crowded event onto their grounds. This blend of Hollywood glamour and deep cultural tradition gives the Los Angeles celebrations a scale and visibility few other American cities can match. It rewards travelers who plan around one of the two flagship events.

2. Chicago channels Día de Muertos into fine art

Skvader / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-Sa 4.0)

The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood ranks among the top Latino museums in the country, so it's little wonder it also hosts one of the largest Día de Muertos celebrations. Known as Día de los Muertos Xicágo, this lively annual event takes place in the museum and surrounding outdoor areas, including Harrison Park, with folklore, performances, live music, and illuminations drawing crowds each year.

On November 8, the museum also hosts its annual Día de Muertos Love........

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