SAN FERNANDO, Calif. – Francisco Javier Verdín is getting ready to welcome his ancestors. In fact he’s setting out a petate.

It’s a bedroll used in parts of Mexico and Central America made of dry palm leaves where his parents slept when he was a child.

It’s also where people would bury the dead. 

“Whenever I remember my dad since I was a kid, I remember him with the ropes and petates and straws and straw hats and things like that,” said Verdin.

So it made sense to have the petate at the foot of the altar he made for his father and his other family members for the Day of the Dead.

“This is my niece that passed when she was 11-years-old,” he said, describing family members who he included on the altar.

On the altars you’ll find pictures and offerings, such as food or drinks. Days before Day of the Dead the altar was at his home in Panorama City.

On November 2, it will be moved to San Fernando Recreation Park. Each year about 50 altars are set up along with entertainment as part of the city’s Dia de Los Muertos event.

There’s also a 5k run/walk that starts at 8 a.m. on November 2.

San Fernando’s Day of the Dead Community Festival has been taking place for nine years and student groups from throughout the area help plan and setup the event.

“They’re doing something that will one day be a beautiful memory to them and that at the same time empowers them to become more organizers within their community, not to forget where they come from,” said Jorge Boche, a local teacher who helps organize event along with Virginia Deidiker who is the cultural arts supervisor for the City of San Fernando.

For people like Verdin, one of the most beautiful parts of the event is how it inspires people to talk to each other about their loved ones and in the process, keeps their memory alive.