El Dia de los Muertos is not a day of sadness

November 1st is a day to celebrate life, remember our loved ones and enjoy in the company of those who are with us.

“From October 2nd to November 9th in Escondido is hosting events to celebrate Day Of The Dead, or “Dia de los Muertos”.

Explore the rich history of Mexico and celebrate Dia de los Muertos at the Center’s museum exhibition. Amble through history with Tren de la Historia, a series of train car sculptures that recount the turning points of the Mexican Revolution along with 36 mixed media sculptures from the Mingei International Museum and an altar installation honoring the Mexican author, Octavio Paz. Chronicling Mexico’s history from early days of revolution to modern day independence this exhibition gives insight into the role of women, political life and Mexico’s perilous fight for independence.

Presented by the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, “Colores de la Muerte,” an art exhibit, will be open Thursday – Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sundays from 1pm to 4pm.

Tickets for this exhibit are $8, Children under 12 and member entrance is free. Student, senior and military discounts are available.

On Nov. 1 the Center will host the 19th Annual Día de los Muertos festival featuring live entertainment by Mariachi Los Caballeros de San Diego, and guests are invited to participate by creating altars in honor of their loved ones in a special area outside of the Center’s museum. Candles will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring mementos, pictures, flowers, and other items for their altars.

The festival will feature traditional Mexican fare, and guests will have the opportunity to decorate their own sugar skull and participate in other fun activities. Guests can also explore the rich history of Mexico at the Center’s museum exhibition, Colores de la Muerte. Admission will be free on November 1!

Finally, don’t miss Ballet Folklorico Tierra Caliente’s vibrant, cheerful and celebratory show, Mexico…Vive Su Folklor, featuring an exciting blend of music, costumes and choreography that highlight Mexico’s diverse regional dances. The show begins at 7:30PM, and tickets are just $15.00-$20.00.

Admission to the museum for “Colores de la Muerte” is FREE during the Museum’s extended hours for the Center’s Dia de los Muertos community Festival from 6pm to 9pm on November 1st.

More information regarding this museum exhibit and the Ballet can be found on the California Center for the Arts, Escondido website (http://artcenter.org/). The exhibit does an amazing job at interpreting how Mexican culture goes about remembering their loved ones. This museum offers an amazing learning experience for those who are aware of the traditions following el Dia de los Muertos and those who are interested in learning more about this day that consists of celebrating, remembering and enjoying the lives of the ones no longer with us.

Another event will be held at the Escondido Public Library on November 1st to celebrate el Dia de los Muertos. Held at 10:30am in the Turrentine Room, there will be music, stories and crafts for children. An alter will also be set up to remember loved ones who have passed away. More information can be found on library.escondido.org

El Dia de los Muertos is not a day of sadness, November 1st is a day to celebrate life, remember our loved ones and enjoy in the company of those who are with us right now, both events are filled with Mexican culture, vibrant colors and joy.”

Annual Dia de Los Muertos Celebration Supports Art Programs For Spanish Immersion Students

Longfellow Spanish Language Immersion Magnet School is gearing up for an annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration on November 5, 2014 from 5-8 pm on the school campus.

The festival includes a variety of food trucks, crafts, face painting and displays. The entertainment features a mariachi band, Longfellow Ballet Folklorico performances, and a giant puppet drum parade with Aztec dancers.

The cost is $6 per child and includes all crafts, cookie, face painting and a gift. Adults are free. Attendance is expected to exceed the 1000 attendees from last year as popularity continues to grow. The event benefits and supports programs such as Art Corps through Los Compadres de Escuela Longfellow, a hands-on art experience for children offered over a series of workshops.

About Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead or All Souls’ Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember family and friends who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day November 1st and All Souls’ Day that occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

About Longfellow Spanish Language Immersion Magnet School

Established in 1977, Long-fellow opened as a total-school Spanish language immersion magnet school. In a total immersion language program, all schooling in the initial years is conducted in the foreign language. This immersion method was pioneered in Canada, in the 1960’s, to teach the French language to native English speakers.

The Longfellow curriculum meets all district and state requirements. The majority of Longfellow teachers are bilingual in Spanish and English. Studies have consistently shown that immersion students do as well, and may even surpass, monolingual students on standardized measures of assessment.

Longfellow Spanish Language Immersion Magnet School-5055 July Street, San Diego, CA 92110

A new family tradition: Old Town’s Día de los Muertos celebration

The annual celebration of Mexico’s revered holiday, Día de los Muertos returns to Old Town San Diego on November 1 and 2, produced by SOHO as a part of its educational and cultural programming and made possible through the presenting sponsorship of Cafe Coyote.

This is the largest Day of Dead event in the region. The free family oriented event invites visitors to explore Old Town San Diego from one end to the other to view dozens of ofrendas or altars seen throughout businesses, museums, shops, and restaurants.

The celebration is a means of bringing the community together to experience the tradition and culture surrounding Day of the Dead. Día de los Muertos is not to be confused with Halloween, which precedes it; the celebration is neither ghoulish nor morose, rather it is festive, colorful, and joyful.

“This is one of my very favorite events in Old Town,” said Diane Powers of Bazaar del Mundo. “The tour of altars is very dramatic and especially spectacular in the evening, when each altar is aglow with a multitude of candles. Also not to be missed is a visit to El Campo Santo Cemetery along San Diego Avenue, where the gravesites are decorated and the whole cemetery is illuminated.”

Multiple zones are identified on the event map this year for easier navigation where visitors will find 8 zones, all with a different variety of altars, music, dancing, and family-oriented craft activities animating the streets and plazas of Old Town.

Many craft-making sessions are free and designed for all ages. Come make paper masks or flowers, have your face painted to look like a colorful sugar skull, or decorate plaster sugar skulls to honor someone who has departed this life.

Alana Coons, Education and Communications Director for SOHO, says that “the goal is that everyone will be able to experience the magic of an event that is unlike any other in San Diego and leave with something both culturally and emotionally lasting, as well as having just a great, fun time.”

Visit during the day and again at night, for two very different experiences. The easy map defines the areas to visit, activities of all types traditional to the holiday will be found at each zone. Maps can be downloaded at SDDayOfTheDead.org.

Visitors are strongly encouraged to take public transit, which comes directly into Old Town, car pool, or if you live close, to walk. Parking and transportation information is located on the website. For more information about this free event for all ages, visit SDDayOfTheDead.org.

Southwestern College 2do Festival Anual de Dia De Los Muertos

Southwestern College los invita a celebrar el Dia De Los Muertos el Martes 28 de Octubre y Miercoles 29 de Octubre apartir de las 9 a.m. a 6 p.m. Disfruten de Artesanias, mas de 50 Puestos, Concurso de Altares y de disfraz de Catrin & Catrina y mucho mas! Estaciónamiento y Evento Gratuito.
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Southwestern College 2nd Annual Dia De Los Muertos Festival

Join us at Southwestern College for this 2-day event on Tues. October 28 and Wed. October 29, with EXTENDED hours from 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Featuring a lively mixture of more than 50 Vendors, Food, Arts & Crafts, Altars, Contests and more!

First Annual Dia de Los Muertos Celebrates History and Culture

The Jacobs Center for Neigh-borhood Innovation (JCNI) is partnering with Izcalli to present the first annual Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead festival on Saturday, November 1, as part the Jacobs Presents Cultural Celebrations & Performances Series. This free community event, which promises to be San Diego’s largest Day of the Dead celebration, will take place at Market Creek Amphitheater and Festival Park, 310 Euclid Avenue (behind Food 4 Less), from noon to 8 p.m.

“We are proud to have an opportunity to partner with Izcalli to celebrate the history and deep roots of the Day of the Dead,” said Reginald Jones, President and CEO of JCNI. “We believe the authenticity of the program, combined with the cultural celebration and vibrancy will resonate with our community and become an annual tradition.”

Organizers include five native tribes that will help ensure that the day is full of meaning and respect for the ancient tradition. “We are actively reclaiming the history and culture of Day of the Dead and introducing it to a new generation,” explained Macedonio Arteaga, Executive Director of Izcalli . “All activities are designed to help honor and educate participants as we bridge Native Mexican and American tribes with community members to have a respectful collaboration celebrating Dia de los Muertos.” Day of the Dead is a time when we give ofrendas (offerings) to those deceased. It’s a time to honor their journey in the spirit world. Dia de los Muertos is a day to eat, drink and celebrate the multitudes of the human spiritual experience. As an added bonus, the day-long free event will feature performances by Grammy Award -winning bi-lingual Latin band Quetzal, winner of 2013 Grammy for Best Latin Pop album.

The Market Creek Amphitheater stage will showcase local and international talent throughout the day including nationally recognized comedy troupe Teatro Izcalli, DanzArts- Sabor Mexico Dance Company, traditional native dances, Mariachi bands and many more. Authentic Day of the Dead altars will be built by five indigenous tribes from Mexico while a number of community altars will be on display. Over 150 lowrider cars will be on view courtesy of the San Diego Lowrider Council, many of them featuring tributes to the ancestors with altars.

For more information go to www.izcalli.org/teatro or www.jacobspresents.com

National City and La Vista Memorial Park Dia de Los Muertos

National City’s La Vista Memorial Park will host its sixth annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration Saturday, Oct. 25, from noon to 9 p.m. at its 40-acre hillside cemetery, 3191 Orange Street in National City. FREE COMMUNITY EVENT!!!

In what has become perhaps the largest and most “spirited” celebration inside cemetery grounds of the traditional Latin American holiday in the San Diego area, the independently owned and operated community cemetery will provide a free program of music, art folk dancing and other entertainment, along with a variety of vendors offering food and hand crafted gift items for sale.

Headlining the entertainment will be the highly regarded New York band, “Pistolera,” which has toured through six countries since 2005 featuring their hot-selling brand of accordion-driven dance songs. Also topping the entertainment bill will be Tijuana’s “Opera Ambulante,” a dazzling form of spontaneous “street opera” who never fail to stop surprised but admiring crowds in their tracks. You can expect thousands to be in attendance both living and the dead.

Dia de Los Muertos will also feature an extensive and often touching display of traditional “altars” honoring deceased loved ones. Those creating altars will have a chance to win $1,000 on the spot for the best entry. There will also be a “Best Dressed Catrina” contest inspired by the early 20th Century Mexican painter and passionate cultural figure Frida Kahlo.

“La Vista’s Dia de Los Muertos event has grown into the premier family event in the South Bay,” noted Luisa McCarthy, general manager of La Vista and one of the chief architects of the Dia de Los Muertos celebration. “It combines a great and highly affordable experience for all ages along with a strong sense of the Mexican heritage and activities traditionally associated with Dia de Los Muertos.”

Unlike Halloween, with its “scary” overtones and focus on the dead, Dia de Los Muertos is a fusion of both Spanish and Aztec traditions which emphasizes the celebration of life by the living in a festive, party atmosphere while honoring the dearly departed.