November 5, 2026
Fall is my favorite season, which is when LA Commons gears up to welcome another exciting programming season celebrating love, power and resilience. There is no better way to kick things off than accompanying our Florence-Firestone community members—as part of our Fremont Healthy Culture Hub initiative—through their annual Día de los Muertos altar creation and installation.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Fremont Healthy Culture Hub is a place-based model of resilience where residents, youth, artists and community organizations shape projects reflecting a neighborhood’s history, creativity and aspirations. Through art, events, storytelling and civic engagement, participants build connection, belonging, and become active stewards of their communities.
Months before Día de los Muertos, anywhere between 20-30 of our Fremont Healthy Culture Hub members gather weekly to begin envisioning their theme and art outcomes for the altar. Being a part of each gathering and planning session is invigorating as I look around the full room and reminisce on our small group of five community members we started with in 2021.
After years of trust-building relationships, successful outreach models and indispensable partnerships with John C. Fremont High School’s Parent Center, UMMA Health and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, our group has grown to 30 consistent members, or “resident advisors,” who lead the artistic development of workshops, events, large-scale festivals and installations.
Supporting our resident advisors the last few months in their altar production was deeply moving, as many of my interactions and day-to-day work is with this team. While making dozens of paper cempasuchitls (marigolds), or meticulously finalizing seed art, many members shared stories of their loved ones who they were honoring this year, or their yearly traditions in their homelands. Some remember their parents, children, friends and beloved pets that have passed years ago—some more recent, even within the few weeks leading up to the bittersweet celebration.
A resounding theme in these conversations is often shared: LA Commons’ Healthy Culture Hub programming is a key motivator towards wellness and community connection. Many members share their excitement to attend each weekly session and their gratitude for our season’s kickoff. For many, programming sessions are the only moment in their day to connect with themselves through art, through their culture, and with their community in an intimate way that nourishes their mental health. I couldn’t agree more! My days working with resident advisors are filled with constant reminders of my own upbringing, cultural traditions and the same warmth my family and long-time friends bring me. I am grateful to form part of the beautiful space our resident advisors have created.
This happens to be an especially exciting year, because the Fremont Healthy Culture Hub’s altar installation was selected to be one of 17 altars on display at Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos celebration! Entitled, “Muerte y Vida,” the altar mourns our loved ones while at the same time honoring the circle of life and celebrating traditions that continue to give us life.
These community members—artists!—who created this altar tell a story in three parts: to the left, bringing loved ones who left a lasting legacy in their families and world; the center celebrates women as weavers of culture, storytelling, and change in our communities; and lastly to the right, the Healthy Culture Hub calls on what continues to give their community life: a connection to nature that stewards peace, healing, and a grounding force in their continued resilience.
