Most people walk into Sahara West Library for a book and walk right past one of the most moving rooms in Las Vegas right now. No ticket line, no Strip crowd, just a grotto full of butterflies hiding in plain sight.
The room is The Return, a large-scale Dia de Muertos installation by Las Vegas artist Isaias Hiram Urrabazo. It is on view in the library's Grotto through November 30, and it deserves a spot on your calendar before it comes down.
A Grotto Built From 6,000 Paper Butterflies
The installation features more than 6,000 paper butterflies and hundreds of photographs of people who have died. Family members helped hang marigolds and attach butterflies to garden netting, building a grotto-like room you walk into, not just look at.
The butterfly is the whole point. "We believe that the monarch butterfly brings the spirits of our loved ones back," Urrabazo has said.
Urrabazo is a native Las Vegan, and his eye comes from the stage. His credits include Celine Dion: A New Day, Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular, Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson ONE, and Magic Mike Live.
- The count: more than 6,000 paper butterflies, plus hundreds of photographs.
- The setting: the Grotto at Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave.
- The deadline: on view through November 30, 2026.
The Stories Hiding in the Objects
This is not a generic altar, and that is what makes it hit. Every object in the room belongs to a real person and a real story.
This year, one of those stories belongs to the artist's friend Max Gilmore. Visitors can read text messages Max sent Urrabazo after visiting the earlier installation, and see the dress shoes Urrabazo bought for him, the ones Max wore to the Magic Mike movie premiere.
There is a flower box turned into an ofrenda with Max's name, and pillowcases Max sewed after Urrabazo taught him how. Small things, until you stand in that room and they are not small anymore.
The title carries the artist's own loss, too. His mother, Maria, died during the COVID-19 pandemic while the family waited outside her hospital, and Urrabazo says, "So, I guess what I'm saying is we are still waiting for her return."
His rule for the room is simple, and it is worth knowing before you go. "I hope people understand that this is not Mexican Halloween," he says. "It's a very sacred and beautiful celebration of life, not death."
How to See It Before November 30
Sahara West Library sits at 9600 W. Sahara Ave. on the west side of the valley. The installation is open to the public during library hours, and there is no ticket and no reservation.
- Pick your hours. The library is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
- Go slow inside. The photographs and objects reward reading, not rushing, so give the room real time instead of a quick lap.
- Bring someone you have lost in mind. The room is built for your memories as much as the artist's, and visitors have described it as peaceful.
- Do not wait for December. November 30 is the last day, and once the grotto comes down, this version of The Return is gone.
Vegas does big and loud better than anywhere. This little room inside a west side library does quiet better than almost anything in town right now, and you have until November 30 to stand in it.
