Project : Los Angeles - “Mourning of Muharram” in DTLA

Yesterday an organization by the name of "The10thday" held a "Mourning if Muharram” Demonstration in the heart of DTLA closing off Broadway in between several streets from Olympic through 11th St. A demonstrations that i have never experienced before. I had no clue that there were practices like this in Los Angeles. So I began to photograph nearly everything I saw. Energy reacting to energy, from the loud pounding of the drums, to the angelic sound of the singers reciting a song; that I didn't understand because it was sang in Arabic, to the sound of the contact of hands banging on the chest of the men. It was almost surreal. I am glad that I was able to experience something like this in my city. Just seeing a community work together too accomplish a goal has been a driving force for why I continue to document. I just want to see people engaging with one another with laughs being shared and memories being made. I hope you enjoy this series.

Photographed by @josh.tsm

Los Angeles PD and Los Angeles Traffic Officers made sure that the event ran smooth and were on alert for any anti-demonstrators. 

Tune in next week, to see a glimpse of what goes down in LA

- Josh