Festival de la Gente

The 8th Annual Festival de la Gente was this past weekend on the 6th St. bridge that connects Downtown LA and Boyle Heights. For two days the bridge was alive with art, music, dancing and celebration of Dia de los Muertos. If you were lucky, you could have even seen Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa dancing in the streets.

Performing amid larger-than-life paper maiche skeletons, Aztec suns and serpents by Tony Dominguez were Quinto Sol, Upground, Redbone, Santos de Los Angeles, Union 13, and Chalo Eduardo and the Samba Pimps. The crowd danced around Dia de los Muertos altars, live painting exhibitions, the Dia de los Muertos vintage car show, and vendors selling a variety of clothing, jewelry, and books. A variety of authentic foods were offered throughout the festival. Saturday night wrapped up with LA's own fiery Phoenix Projekt in an astounding acrobatic performance.

Part of the proceeds will benefit Arte Calidad Cultural Institute, a non-profit academy providing art education and job training in the Hispanic community for employment in the arts and entertainment industries.