Some are calling for the Catholic Archdiocese to amend its decorations policies to be more inclusive of the Latin American holiday
Families are criticizing All Souls Cemetery & Mortuary after workers removed Dia de Los Muertos offerings and floral arrangements within 24 hours of them being placed—in some cases before the first day of Dia de los Muertos.
Offerings for the altars, such as candies, toys, statues, pumpkins and floral garlands are against the cemetery’s decorations policy, but some residents are calling upon the Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries to change that policy, which gives variances for holidays like Easter and Christmas.
When Janet Mendez arrived at All Souls Cemetery on Monday, Nov. 1, she came with arms full of bright orange marigolds, small pumpkins and a few pieces of Halloween candy. She would place those offerings on the grave of her son, who died during a stillbirth and was buried at the cemetery in December 2013.
The gravestone, lasered with the words “Remembering Our Fallen Angel: Andrew Mendez,” would soon be enveloped in carnation petals for Dia de los Angelitos—a day specifically to honor deceased children. Neighboring plots, lasered with images of teddy bears and the Virgin Mary, would follow suit.
The altars are just one component of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, an annual celebration on Nov. 1 and 2. The celebration is a combination of Indigenous Latin American practices and the Catholic holiday All Saints Day.
According to Mendez, the cemetery has typically left the altars up until its regularly-scheduled Thursday cleanups.
But this year, she said, was different.
Within 24 hours, decorations at the cemetery would be removed en masse, leaving only fresh-cut flowers in the grave’s vases, per their policy. She would watch a cemetery groundskeeper drive past with a truck bed full of coronas (wreaths), floral arrangements, toys and pumpkins. Some would have their decorations removed just minutes after leaving them.
“It was a very painful and hurtful moment for me to see how bad… they were just destroying something memorable that we believe in our culture and our faith, because Catholics are big on this, so it was very disturbing to see,” Mendez said.
According to the Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries “Flowers & Decorations” policy page, only fresh-cut flowers are allowed at gravesites. The cemetery does not allow outside vases, standing decorations of any kind (potted plants, artificial flowers, helium balloons, whirligigs, pinwheels, vigil candles, toys and other objects).
The policy states that “the Cemetery reserves the right to remove any flowers and/or decorations to allow for ongoing operations such as funeral and general maintenance activities. Any items not specifically permitted by the cemetery may be removed without notice.”
But residents felt blindsided by the removal of flowers and decorations given that, according to Beatriz Lopez and others, the policy hasn’t been enforced in years.
“Never, ever had we had an issue with them. It’s a policy for them, but they were allowing it because they understood. And they see the magnitude of that,” said Lopez, whose family members have come to the cemetery since 1989.
“I don’t think there was a tomb that didn’t have those flowers, so they looked away for years and years and years, but not this year,” she said. “And that’s a problem.”
Unlike Mendez, Lopez and her daughter Tanya Fuentez didn’t bring offerings like candy or pumpkins. They outlined the grave of Lopez’s mother, who died in 2013, with stemless orange marigolds.
The cemetery’s decorations policy states that the “use of flowers, garland or other items to outline the boundaries” of gravesites is not permitted.
She acknowledged the validity behind prohibiting items like candy and pumpkins to ward off insects and wildlife from the cemetery. But Lopez believes that outlining graves with fresh flowers, a part of Dia de los Muertos tradition, should be allowed.
Kristine Ramirez, who attempted to decorate her grandfather’s tombstone, feels the same. She noted that she saw gravesites cleared of decorations starting Sunday, one day before the official start of Dia de los Muertos.
“When you sit there, and you desecrate these graves by raking over the tombstones and the gravesite—not only while people are away, but while people are there and while they’re praying and while they’re still in the middle of decorating—what you’re doing is like you’re making them lose their loved one all over again,” Ramirez said.
She said there were inequities in the cemetery’s policies, which makes exceptions for Christmas and Easter. For example, gravesites are allowed one Christmas wreath during the holiday season, but coronas (wreaths) were thrown away during Dia de los Muertos.
From Dec. 10, 2021 to Jan. 12, 2022, gravesites can be decorated with 2.5-foot Christmas trees with ornaments, poinsettias, Christmas wreaths and small nativity scenes, according to a flyer for this year. During Lent (Easter), gravesites may have 2.5-foot Christian crosses and Easter lilies in plastic pots.
The online policy has no mention of Dia de los Muertos.
“You can have the nativity set, which are statues […] Why can’t we use that to put scenes up for Dia de los Muertos? Why can’t we use that to put up little figurines?” Ramirez said. “We can think about a mini altar, maybe a flower portion, we can negotiate.”
According to an emailed statement from the Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, under which All Souls Cemetery works, this year “as a special consideration” all flowers for Dia de los Muertos and All Souls Day will not be removed until Nov. 11.
The statement continued: “In this situation, flowers were removed ahead of November 11 as they did not follow the flower and decoration policy […] These guidelines are in place to ensure the safety of those who visit and maintain the cemetery, as well as to respect the sacred spaces of others buried at the cemeteries.”
All Souls Cemetery did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A representative from the Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said that it is against their policy to allow employees to speak to media personnel.
The Signal Tribune contacted five other Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries locations listed on All Soul’s website asking about their policies for Dia de los Muertos altars.
Three of the mortuaries said they’d leave flowers until Thursday, Nov. 11, a week after their regularly-scheduled cleanups. All three noted that they did not allow altars, but that loved ones could place flowers and rosaries in the plots’ installed vases and in the divots near the gravestones.
A fourth cemetery said that gravestones would be cleaned this Thursday, noting that the only extension it offered for flowers and decorations was during Christmas.
A fifth cemetery said that they, too, only allowed fresh-cut flowers but that families could pick up other decorations from the plots before its Thursday cleanup.
“I think people need to understand and take note of that if you’re going to have a cemetery that revolves around Catholicism and includes the saints, Jesus, God and the Virgin Mary, you have to take into account that there are people that follow Catholicism from diverse locations, whether it’s Mexican cultures and traditions, Central American cultures and traditions, and even in American, even in Spain,” Ramirez said. “These traditions should be recognized.”
Ramirez and other families hope that the Catholic Archdiocese, which oversees the cemeteries, will reconsider their policies.
“I just hope they hear us, as Hispanics, as a culture, and anyone who believes this as a Catholic faith. To honor our dead is something very special to us,” Mendez said. “It’s very hurtful after seven years. This was a disappointment towards my loved one.”
Thank you so much Emma for taking your time out of multiple days to help the community and patrons of All Souls spread awareness. This will shed light & hopefully be the starting voice of negotiations to have Dia de los Muertos recognized and respected upon the grounds.
All Souls Cemetery was established in 1950 and has had the same rules since then. The rules reflect Catholic traditions, not ethnic traditions. You knew the rules when you buried your loved one. Not everyone likes gaudy “decorations” on a gravesite.