Dia de Los Muertos Event in Las Vegas Comes to Life With 6,000 Paper Butterflies

The Sahara West Library in Las Vegas recently held its Dia de Los Muertos celebration. These types of events bring community members together through art, tradition, and remembrance. The ofrenda at the library featured a lot of entertaining paper butterflies, with the idea of harmonious spirits returning home to be with our loved ones and enter another stage of being. The installation titled “The Return” was created by local artist Isaias Hiram Urrabazo and his family with the vision of relating the participants back to their culture and within our shared history.

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District partnered with Urrabazo to develop the large-scale installation, ensuring it would be accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to people from all backgrounds. Visitors encountered vibrant cultural symbolism and traditions that highlight the meaning of Dia de Los Muertos as a joyful remembrance rather than a somber mourning.

“This is really a celebration of life, not death. It really connects us back to our ancestors and the people who were close to us. All those beautiful memories, and I think that's why it's so important,” said Isaias Hiram Urrabazo, a local artist.

“And then you see the monarch butterflies around here, we believe that the monarch butterfly brings the spirits of our loved ones back,” Urrabazo said.

“It's so beautiful to be here and that so many different types of people walk in here and encounter this that is welcoming them, not just Latinos, but everybody,” he said.

“And being able to support something culturally like this to let us know that our local community, but also the citywide community, this is something they can come here,” said programming specialist Gene Smith.

The celebration emphasized that Dia de Los Muertos is an occasion centered on life, memory, and connection. Through art and tradition, the event created a space for families and individuals to honor their ancestors while sharing the beauty of the culture with the broader Las Vegas community.