When he was young, Carlos Eric Lopez remembers watching his grandmother Abuelita Lita create her ofrendas in honor of Día de Los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead.

Photos of the deceased family members were placed on an altar along with candles, flowers and tokens representing them. Big or small, it was a space to remember the dearly departed.

An only child and a “military kid” who moved frequently, Lopez had a strong family bond, particularly with Lita who he describes as “the cornerstone” of his family.

“She’s the matriarch,” he told TODAY.com. “The importance of it and the significance of it has been really beautiful.”

It wasn’t until his own mother, Josephine “Josie” Cisneros Lopez, died when he was 17 that he began to understand the magnitude and beauty of the Mexican holiday celebrated in Latin America.

Day of the Dead is celebrated in many ways, but its purpose is to keep the memory of the deceased beloved alive with the belief that you will be reunited one day. It takes place on November 1 and 2, but can be celebrated on different days depending on the region.

Lopez is on a mission to educate her non-Latino friends about the importance of Día de Muertos, and her determination began because of the pandemic.

“My family started getting sick with COVID,” Lopez recalled, recounting how he dove into his ancestors as family members died.

“I really wanted to connect with them more, I wanted to find a way to keep their memories (alive). And that’s when my altar started exploding with every decoration you could think of. It started to overflow with images. I would buy flowers. I would start bringing all their things that they loved. I would put food on it. I put drinks on it and really started to make it into this beautiful thing.

In late 2021, when people started gathering again, he had friends politely asking him why he had so many photos of his deceased family on his table.

“The easiest way to explain it to them was, ‘Have you seen the movie “Coco”? » he said. “As much as I love the movie and it’s a great reference, I thought, ‘This can’t be how I explain this magical day we all celebrate.'”

That’s when Lopez, who was influenced by his late mother to explore the arts, decided to host his first intimate Día de Muertos dinner.

Photos from the event gained worldwide attention from Latinos who thanked him for honoring the culture in an authentic way. The success of the dinner led him to host a larger event in 2022 and make it a significant cultural celebration.

The second edition The Día de Muertos event brought friends and celebrities together at Casa De Plata in Los Angeles, a hacienda-style home designed by Mexican architect Luis Barragán’s protégé, Ricardo Legorreta.

When the third year came around, it became a larger-than-life gala honoring Lita and was held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He also started his beverage company, Cura Lita, named after his grandmother.

Lopez didn’t intend for this to become a Día de Muertos gala, but he’s honored to incorporate traditional elements into the new traditions he’s establishing while continuing to host. This includes honoring the actor Gael Garcia Bernal with the first Premio Vida y Legado (Life and Legacy Award) during the 2023 celebration, as well as Lita with the first Abuelita Award.

“Since my mother passed away, there has been this bond that has really become more electrifying in a beautiful way. When we are together, we create my mother because she is an older generation, me a younger generation,” Lopez says. “So we both create this magnetic field.”

Establishing himself as the “King of the Dead,” Lopez’s upcoming 2024 gala, themed “Hecho in Hollywood,” will take place at the historic Paramount Studios and will highlight the contributions of Latinos in Hollywood.

“What I really want to focus on and emphasize is, ‘Who puts the ‘hecho’ in Hollywood?’ It’s the Latinos,” Lopez says. “We are often the hidden driving force behind so many industries and so many jobs that we often go unnoticed. »

Instead of adding to the narrative “there’s not enough representation,” Lopez wants to “show the world what Latinos in Hollywood really look like.”

He took over a soundstage at Paramount Studios because of his connection with Desilu Studiosco-founded by “I Love Lucy” stars and former couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

“We’ve always been in Hollywood. Let’s emphasize who we are,” he says. “Let’s change and control the narrative to celebrate each other, celebrate our past.”

To bring his vision to life, Lopez brought in Academy Award-winning production designer Eugenio Caballero. The Mexican designer is the mind behind the shows “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “A Monster Calls,” “Roma” and Cirque du Soleil.

Speaking to TODAY.com, Caballero said he was intrigued by Lopez’s interesting approach to Día de Muertos because it linked his love of cinema with honoring the Latino community who “fought in his own trenches to help create this dream, which is Hollywood. »

“I normally do films, but I like to do (other projects)… to get out of my comfort zone,” Caballero says. “And Day of the Dead, personally, is the most important on a soul level but also visually (superb). This is the party that really attracts me (of all the Mexican festivities).

Tradition and modernity are at the forefront of Caballero’s work for the gala. Marigolds, candles and sugar skulls will be involved, but closely related to theatrical techniques used in classic Hollywood musicals to embrace and incorporate the soundstage. It will also pay homage to Mexican architecture with the stage and decorations.

Eva Longoria will receive the Premio Vida y Legado this year. Actress Isabela Merced will present the Abuelita Award to her aunt Gloria Rojas in honor of her late grandmother and perform the traditional Día de Muertos folk song “La Llorona.” Miguel will perform at the first ever after-party.

Throughout it all, Lopez credits Lita for keeping his family’s memories alive, saying she “has this beautiful feeling of togetherness and family” that he also incorporates into his gala.

“She passed it on to my mother. It was my mother who passed it on to me,” he says. “That’s where all of this comes in. I’m very big on legacy and heritage…I want to make sure that everyone feels like they’re a part of (the gala).

This article was originally published on TODAY.com