Celebrating Mexico’s Ocotlan

An entertainer sings and dances in a La Puente backyard during a festival reminiscent of those held in Ocotlan, Mexico.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 25, 2015 12:11 PM PT

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For more than 100 years, celebrations have been held on both sides of the border each fall in honor of the Mexican city of Ocotlan. But today a shadow hangs over the city, and the people in Southern California who love it.

People socialize while entertainers perform in a La Puente backyard. Many of those at the fiesta were from Ocotlan in Mexico’s Jalisco state -- a “magical city” that is now under the shadow of drug war violence.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Father Sergio de Jesus Reyes Chiquito, right, blesses Jose Lozano after a fiesta Mass in a La Puente backyard.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jose Angel sings Mexican songs during the La Puente celebration.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

A collection is taken as Father Sergio de Jesus Reyes de Jesus Reyes Chiquito leads Mass.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Father Sergio de Jesus Reyes de Jesus Reyes Chiquito blesses a horse after the fiesta Mass. “God never leaves us,” he told those who gathered to hear him. “God is always with us.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)