SOLANA BEACH — The annual Día de Los Muertos celebration at La Colonia Community Park returned on Sunday to Solana Beach with hundreds of attendees from the historic La Colonia de Eden Gardens neighborhood and beyond.
Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, is a traditional holiday with roots as far back as 3,000 years ago in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. Lasting from Nov. 1 to 2, it is a time to honor and celebrate ancestors and loved ones who have passed on.
Attendees young and old had their faces painted, enjoyed churros and live music, and viewed the “ofrendas,” or altars, set up in the trunks of classic cars by members of the Viejitos Car Club.
Honoring the ancestral legacy of La Colonia de Eden Gardens is a key aspect of Solana Beach’s celebration. The neighborhood was formed in the 1920s with the arrival of Mexican farmers who were hired to work in the fields of Rancho Santa Fe and their families.
