Funeral homes are places America often prefers to ignore. As the coronavirus pandemic surged in Los Angeles in recent months, the industry went into disaster mode, quietly and anonymously dealing with mass death on a scale for which it was unprepared and ill-equipped. 

Continental has been one of the most overwhelmed funeral homes in the country. Its location at the center of Southern California’s coronavirus spike, its popularity with working-class Mexican and Mexican-American families who have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, its decision to expand its storage capacity — all have combined to turn the day-to-day into a careful dance of controlled chaos.

“I live a nightmare every day,” said Magda Maldonado, 58, the owner of the funeral home. “It’s a crisis, a deep crisis. When somebody calls me, I beg them for patience. ‘Please be patient,’ I say, ‘that’s all I’m asking you.’ Because nothing is normal these days.”'