{"id":35433,"date":"2025-11-03T03:58:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T03:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/35433\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T03:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T03:58:07","slug":"families-honor-the-dead-at-dia-de-los-muertos-ceremony-first-started-in-sherman-heights-31-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/35433\/","title":{"rendered":"Families honor the dead at D\u00eda de los Muertos ceremony first started in Sherman Heights 31 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

On top of one of the altars set up in memory of community members, Anel Sandoval placed a picture frame holding a photo of her late father, Domingo Sandoval.<\/p>\n

For D\u00eda de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead), which was observed on Sunday, Sandoval returned to the Sherman Heights Community Center where she had once volunteered. She went to honor her father, a longtime Sherman Heights resident who first brought the traditional holiday that pays tribute to the dead to the community center in 1994.<\/p>\n

\"TeresaTeresa Salazar participated in the Centro Cultural de la Raza\u2019s D\u00eda de Muertos procession on Nov. 2, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very proud of him,\u201d said Sandoval, who was joined by her mother, Elia P\u00e9rez, as she spoke about the tradition passed down from her father, who was a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, and who died eight years ago.<\/p>\n

The photo on the ofrenda \u2014 a Spanish word meaning \u201coffering\u201d \u2014 showed her father standing in the middle of a garden full of marigolds. He used to grow the bright orange flowers in the courtyard next to the Sherman Heights Community Center. The marigold is believed to guide spirits to the altars.<\/p>\n

Thirty-one years ago, Domingo Sandova\u00a0began setting up D\u00eda de Muertos altars, which honor and welcome deceased loved ones who are believed to return to the world of the living for the Mexican holiday. He wanted to give the community a way to remember their loved ones.<\/p>\n

\"LizLiz Ortiz participated in the Centro Cultural de la Raza\u2019s D\u00eda de Muertos procession on Nov. 2, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the community center concluded three weeks of Day of the Dead-related activities with an evening procession. More than 30 community altars were decorated with photos of loved ones, marigolds, candles and their favorite foods.<\/p>\n

In front of one of them, a father held his two daughters\u2019 hands as he looked at photographs of friends who had passed away and talked to his children about them.<\/p>\n

Community center Executive Director Daniela Kelly stressed the value of passing this tradition onto future\u00a0generations. \u201cIntergenerational education has always been a fundamental aspect of this celebration in Sherman Heights,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said it is common for grandparents or parents to talk to their children or grandchildren about the tradition. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to cultivate family closeness, share stories about loved ones\u2026 and learn more about the family tree,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The event has grown over the years in both community support and interest in setting up altars.\u00a0\u201cIt is an honor for us to host this celebration,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n

\"MichelleMichelle Luna Reynoso of Danza Azteca Kuauhkoatl participated in the Centro Cultural de la Raza\u2019s D\u00eda de Muertos procession on Nov. 2, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sandoval was a teenager when her late father set up the first altars. She recalled that, at the time, there were only three or four. She said Sunday was her first time visiting the center since her dad died.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see so many people come out and continue the tradition,\u201d said Elia P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n

Prior to the procession, colorful danza folkl\u00f3rica groups, wearing marigold crowns and sombreros decorated with bright lights, and other artists showcased Mexican music as part of the event. The procession was set to go through the neighborhood, where some of the homes were decorated for the occasion.<\/p>\n

A group that included dancers from Danza Azteca joined the candlelight procession after walking from the Centro Cultural de la Raza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On top of one of the altars set up in memory of community members, Anel Sandoval placed a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,23,100,74,76,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-35433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-latest-headlines","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-san-diego-headlines","13":"tag-san-diego-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}