Día de los Muertos procession to be held at this 'ghost town' in Mariposa County
Oct 31, 2024
HORNITOS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Once a year, in a small "ghost town" nestled away in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, footsteps making their way to the cemetery are all that can be heard for a Dia De Los Muertos or an All Souls Day Celebration.
Hands, fingers, and faces glow above the candles as hundreds of people walk up the hill to the old Saint Catherines Catholic Church Cemetery.
Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau's website for the County of Mariposa says that the yearly procession on All Souls Day is to honor the dead - who outnumber the living in the small town of Hornitos in Mariposa County.
According to the website, in Spanish, Hornitos translates to little ovens, an aphorism that some say was used to describe the above-ground graves that scattered the town.
Among the dead that lay in Hornitos is Joaquin Murrieta, a Mexican-American vaquero turned bandit. Although his body rests in Hornitos, the "Robin Hood of the West," lives on in legend - his life is believed to have inspired the character Zorro.
The candle-lit procession will be on Nov. 2 and will start at dusk. For more information, click here.