Maria Flores becomes La Muerte Maria for the Day of the Dead while expressing her Dodger spirit. Gordon Tokumatsu reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
An El Sereno woman says that mixing two of her life passions – her Mexican culture and the Los Angeles Dodgers – comes easy this week as the Boys in Blue continue their quest to conquer the New York Yankees in the World Series.
“Oh, gotta love your Dodgers. I’m an LA girl,” said Maria Flores as she applied air brush strokes to create an artificial skeleton’s clavicle on her chest. “That’s why I like doing it.”
The makeup routine, which takes anywhere between four and a half to six hours, is part of her process to create La Muerte Maria, Flores’ take on the iconic Catrina character commonly associated with Dia de los Muertos celebrations, which have already started and will continue through early November.
When finished, the effect of her costume is stunning: Light blue contact lenses give her eyes an otherworldly look, sharp lines on her face create the illusion of a human skull, complete with a grinning rictus of perfectly aligned teeth.
She tops the look off with a traditional sequined sombrero and a homemade quinceañera dress, glowing in Dodger blue with the team’s logos affixed to it.
“When they see me,” she said of her visits to Dodger home games, “it reminds them of their loved one, and when they used to go to watch the Dodger games.”
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Dia de los Muertos or “Day of the Dead” is a Mexican cultural event dating back more than a hundred years and celebrated by many Angeleno families. Unlike Halloween, it celebrates rather than scares – paying tribute to family members or friends who have passed away.
“I’ve always loved the Day of the Dead. It’s part of my culture,” she said while carefully air brushing on the last of her makeup.
An LAUSD preschool teacher by trade, Flores says her appearances at home games give her a creative outlet for her artistic talents, which have included murals, costume design and even cake decorating.
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“People loved it; people were in awe. They were, like, pretty much in awe.”
