Some of the sites were new, but local enthusiasm for celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) has not wavered.
An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people enjoyed the festivities in downtown Oceanside.
Organizers believe at least 2,000 were on hand for the celebration at MiraCosta College’s San Eijo Campus in Encinitas.
And 500 attended a program at the Encinitas Library.
Carlsbad opened its Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park for free tours amid traditional Día de los Muertos decorations and crafts activities for the children, which continued through Thursday.
The Disney movie “Coco” with a Day of the Dead theme was shown for free Oct. 28.
Day of the Dead is intrinsic in Mexican culture.
Families honor their departed loved ones with altars, called ofrendas, decorated with bright yellow marigold flowers and pictures of the deceased. Included are items the person loved in life — often foods.
Often — as in downtown Oceanside — there’s a chance for the public to draw remembrances, including a section for pets, with chalk on the sidewalk.
At both the Oceanside and San Elijo Campus events, car clubs like 5150 Rax Rods, Por Siempre and Callejeros de Encinitas displayed classic vehicles with ofrendas visible in their open trunks.
Craft activities included making flowers of tissue paper and decorating candy skulls.
Long tables for crafts were set up Oct. 27 in the Encinitas Library, and there were chances for printmaking and constructing foot-long ofrendas out of cardboard boxes with the names of the deceased.
At the other end of the library, Maribel Siman-DeLucca of the Back from Tomboctou ethnic artisan shop in San Diego oversaw a dozen children at a time painting wild colors on prefabricated (inedible) sugar skulls.
She estimated some 120 youngsters would take part before the day was out.
One of those was 7-year-old Eliza Moore whose mother, Colleen, said she wanted her home-schooled daughter to learn of different cultures.
The library scheduled an exhibition of the work of local artist Luis Murguia to coincide with the event. His surfer figures are gaily clad skeletons. His display continues with a reception planned from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Día de los Muertos-themed artwork from youngsters at Paul Ecke-Central and Oak Knoll elementary schools was on display.
Over at the San Elijo Campus, Tristan Perez, 8, tried his hand at decorating a sugar skull for the first time, while groups from El Tapatio de Santiago folkoric dance group performed nearby.
Oak Crest Middle School sponsored the face-painting.
Muramid Museum and Art Center sponsored a mural-painting project, and a community ofrenda allowed anyone to put forth a photograph and remembrance.
Naimeh Woodward, president of the sponsoring Encinitas Friends of the Arts, said in a phone interview that the dance troupe, which she helped form, features dancers ranging from 4-year-olds to college students.
For the past decade, Encinitas’ primary celebration has been held in the city’s Community Center, but moved to the college this year.
Woodward said she regretted what appeared to be competing observances with the library program.
But she said many dance groups could not participate there because the program was held on a weekday (a Friday).
Woodward said she actually began the local celebration at the library 10 years ago.
But then it outgrew the location and moved to the Community Center and has been a weekend event.
The Oceanside event also has moved, but not this year. It began downtown in 2001 and moved to Mission San Luis Rey in 2009, where it remained until 2019. It was closed for COVID in 2020 and moved back downtown in 2021.
Sherman is a freelance columnist. Contact her at lola@seaside-media-services.com.
