Día de los Muertos celebration draws hundreds to Civic Center Plaza outside Las Vegas City Hall

What happened

Hundreds of people turned out Sunday for a Día de los Muertos celebration in downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The community event filled the Civic Center Plaza outside Las Vegas City Hall and drew generations of Nevadans.

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday traditionally observed on Nov. 1 and 2, according to the Review-Journal. It honors loved ones who have died and celebrates their memory, and the downtown event celebrated life, death and Latin American culture. More local gatherings like this one are collected in our community coverage.

Inside the celebration at Civic Center Plaza

Music and dance on the plaza stage

A middle school mariachi band played trumpets and violins on the plaza stage, the Review-Journal reported. Later, girls performed dances wearing flowing dresses decorated with bright flowers.

Ofrendas, food and vendors

Colorful altars known as ofrendas held candles, candy skulls and flowers. One of them was set aside for pets that died this year, according to the Review-Journal.

Food trucks offered tacos, churros, aguas frescas and New Mexican dishes. A half-dozen small businesses also set up on the plaza, the newspaper reported.

The families behind the traditions

A dancer who brought her craft from Ciudad Juárez

The young dancers learned their routines from Martha Luevanos, who was a professional dancer in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, before moving to Nevada 56 years ago. Her son, Gerardo Luevanos, told the Review-Journal that she choreographs the dances, sews the detailed dresses and teaches the girls "to honor their culture and the traditions of their forefathers."

Martha Luevanos said the dances help her remember her home country and celebrate it with the generations after her. Speaking in Spanish, with her son translating, she recalled visiting the cemetery in Mexico where her loved ones are buried during past celebrations. "They're no longer with us, but I feel like they're able to see us from above," she told the Review-Journal.

Gerardo Luevanos described the day as both emotional and joyful. "We know we're all gonna pass on at some point," he said, adding that the holiday also celebrates the memories that loved ones leave behind.

A family business and a way to grieve

Among the vendors, Erik Moreno Narciso helped his mother, Teresa Narciso, sell Catholic goods such as rosaries, communion outfits and statuettes of religious figures. He has helped with her business since his grandmother died in 2020, the Review-Journal reported.

Moreno Narciso said the holiday helps him cope with that loss by showing him he is not grieving alone. "It's just a way for us to stay connected, even if they are not physically with us," he told the newspaper.

Why the holiday matters to participants

Participants who spoke to the Review-Journal described the day as a way to remember loved ones who have died. Martha Luevanos noted that before people had pictures and recordings, stories had to be passed on verbally.

She also described the mood of the holiday as one shared between the living and the dead. "They're in a happy mood because they see us in a happy mood," she said. Readers can find more about life around the valley on our neighborhoods page.

What to watch next

• Nov. 2 is the second of the two days on which Día de los Muertos is traditionally observed, according to the Review-Journal.
• The Review-Journal's report did not name the event's organizer or say whether the Civic Center Plaza celebration will return next year; those details remain unconfirmed.