SOLANA BEACH — Members of the La Colonia neighborhood in Solana Beach got an early start celebrating Día de los Muertos this weekend, with a lively festival on Sunday featuring elaborate altars, food, music, and dancing.
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, takes place Nov. 1-2 and is a time to honor and celebrate ancestors and loved ones who have passed on. The traditional holiday has roots as far back as 3,000 years ago in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.
The Oct. 19 celebration at La Colonia Park in Solana Beach saw hundreds of attendees from Solana Beach and beyond, including residents who no longer live there but whose families have a long history in the area.
Detailed altars, or ofrendas, are the highlight of the celebration at La Colonia. The steps on the western edge of the park featured over 40 multi-tiered ofrendas honoring friends and family, along with ofrendas inside the trunks of classic cars by the Viejitos Car Club on the other side of the park.
Lupe Trejo and Yvonne Gonzalez created an ofrenda honoring their ancestors, Jesus and Candelaria Gonzelez, who were among the first families to settle in La Colonia. The two women grew up in La Colonia and try to visit with their own families whenever they can.
“It is always home, because our roots are here on this land,” said Trejo. “We try to come back every year.”
The family of cousins Erika Rodriguez and Diana Aspeytia also set up an ofrenda, with several photos of their grandparents Raymundo and Justina Huesias, who immigrated to La Colonia from Jalisco, Mexico in the 1960s.
Raymundo and Justina had a family of 12, and Erika and Diana are part of a group of 39 total cousins.
“We moved out of La Colonia in 2002. It’s different, it’s so different … but it’s nice to come back to see a lot of the families who are still rooted here,” said Aspeytia.
This year’s event also honored the veterans of La Colonia de Eden Gardens. On the east side of the park, visitors could view a display of posters featuring photos and information about individual veterans.
Families also enjoyed delicious food and shaved ice, participated in the Catrín and Catrina contest, and watched live music and dancing by MiraCosta Ballet Folklórico.
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