Dia de los Muertos Festival still a 'go' for Sunday

By: LAURA GROCH - Staff Writer | Friday, October 26, 2007 11:08 PM PDT ∞

In this photo from the Oceanside's 2006 Dia De Las Muertos Festival, Candise Lopez and son Santiago, 4, make a chalk memorial for Santiago's grandfathers Rafael Lopez and Jerry White. The annual festival returns Sunday to downtown Oceanside.
North County Times file photo
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OCEANSIDE -- With fire and destruction around all around, a festival called Dia de los Muertos -- Day of the Dead -- might seem like the last event anyone would want to be at this Sunday.

But it is not depressing, said Cathy Nykiel of MainStreet Oceanside, a business association that is playing host to its seventh annual Dia de los Muertos Festival downtown from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Instead, she added, the festival will be a bright spot for the community.

"It's not morbid," Nykiel said. "It's a celebration of life, the lives of people we've known. It's not Halloween. It's a celebration of those who aren't with us any more, and how they've impacted us."

The festival, which has its roots in ancient Mexico, features elaborate ofrendas, or altars, whimsical skeletons and candy skulls. The idea is to mock death, to show that life is always to be enjoyed and relished and especially to honor those who have passed away, said Nykiel. The holiday officially coincides with the Roman Catholic feast days of All Saints' Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls' Day (Nov. 2).

"It started in Oaxaca, Mexico," said Nykiel, who is coordinating the event. "Families would go to the graveyard, clean up the plots, then have a meal 'together', " symbolically with the family members who had died, to show that they were still remembered. The favorite foods and even the belongings of the deceased would be brought to the gravesite and included in the celebration.

Several Oaxacan families from the area, as well as those from the Michoacan region, will be part of Oceanside's festival, said Nykiel.

The festival will also include a parade, four community altars open for public use, and traditional Dia merchandise, including "bread of the dead," which is shaped like skeletons, and other macabre munchies.

Music, cultural food and children's fun are also part of the afternoon, and the Red Cross will be holding a blood drive. Even the looks of the festival are enough reason to draw a crowd. Thirty thousand marigolds will decorate the street and the ofrendas, donated this year by Mike Mellano of Mellano and Company, a southern California family-owned floral chain.

Artists from The International University in Cuernavaca, Mexico, as well as local students and families, will build modern-day ofrendas. International studies professor Carlos von Son from Palomar and MiraCosta colleges will conduct tours of the displays and will explain their historical context and the significance of the modern celebrations.

The modern celebration of Halloween should not be confused with the Day of the Dead, Nykiel said. It is not appropriate to show up in a grotesque or frightening costume. "This is totally different from Halloween. It's not supposed to be scary," she said.

Nykiel understands that the name Dia de los Muertos might sound grim, especially considering the immense destruction of the recent wildfires. She said the MainStreet Association had had second thoughts about the festival.

"We asked (participating groups) whether we should not have the festival," she said. "But someone said, 'It's a holiday whether or not the fires are going on. We're going to celebrate whether we have a festival or not.'"

Call (760) 754-4512, or visit www.msoceanside.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

Ann wrote on Oct 27, 2007 12:49 AM:OH Great.. another opportunity for people to get stabbed or shot...nice oSide

Where?? wrote on Oct 27, 2007 6:38 AM:Downtown is a sizeable location. On what streets or venue will this take place?

Gringo wrote on Oct 27, 2007 7:15 AM:To Ann: This event has been very fun and successful over the past few years. My children (6 and 8) love the arts and crafts booths. I purchased a great painting from a local artist displaying her work. This is a cultural event, not a carnival. But then, if you were aware of culture, you would know that...

To Ann wrote on Oct 27, 2007 7:19 AM:This is a cultural event, not a carnival. My children - 6 and 8 - love the arts and crafts booths. I purchased a great painting from a local artist. I recommend you attend, you might learn something before you speak...

Very Thankful wrote on Oct 27, 2007 8:11 AM:Just checked the NOAA website, good chance for light rain today! Radar shows a band of showers off the coast moving this way. Time for everyone to go to Church tomorrow and give thanks, whether your home was spared or simply because you and your loved ones are here to enjoy this day if you lost your material possessions.

Jeanie wrote on Oct 27, 2007 9:26 AM:Is there any way that we can find out those firefighters who saved our home?

The location is wrote on Oct 27, 2007 9:44 AM:Pier view way in downtown Oceanside. It's a fun event and the kids really love it.

Trudi wrote on Oct 27, 2007 10:37 AM:Is anyone else sensing more smoke around the Morro Hills area? We just got home yesterday.

Geoff wrote on Oct 27, 2007 11:57 AM:Jeanie: No firefighters saved your home....Luck is better than skill...... We saved our homes on Wilt Road (two were lost) by fighting the fire ourselves. The fire authority was nowhere to be seen........Until Tuesday morning. No praise is deserved when effort is non-existent.

Oceanside Resident wrote on Oct 27, 2007 12:38 PM:Stabbed and shot? What on earth? This is a wonderful event, and a wonderful way for the community to pull together. Please don't scare people unnecessarily like that - haven't we all been through enough this week as it is? I have no Mexican heritage, and I love this event as a wonderful festival held every year in our great town. Having spend all week volunteering in evacuation centers, I am looking forward to taking a pause and enjoying an event which is both fun and an opportunity to remember those dear to us who have been lost. Congratulations to the organizers for going ahead with this great and much-needed event.

To Geoff wrote on Oct 27, 2007 12:45 PM:...Firefighters came by our home and cleared combustible materials which were on our patio, in case of flying embers. They moved cushions, door mats, a planter and other things which could have caught on fire in an effort to minimize damage, should embers fly by. So, it's not just luck. It's clearing your property when they tell you to do so in the summer and other things in addition to their help which saves homes too.

This holiday is a third world pagan event! wrote on Oct 27, 2007 12:47 PM:What are we doing? Just like Tiajuana

This is not a festival! wrote on Oct 27, 2007 12:48 PM:This is morbid and witch craft like! Please take these practices out of the Christian Community! Now the government has become involved!

glenn wrote on Oct 27, 2007 12:52 PM:No fires, no hoses, no down power lines on EMission from Hamilton lane to Macadamia, El paisano. We walked in. There is no apparent reason why they are not opening up this area for residents. There are quite a few residents that have made there way in.

I Love Oceanside wrote on Oct 27, 2007 1:12 PM:It should be noted that the timing of Halloween, Christmas and Easter are all based on pagan events. And Oceanside is not a "Christian Community" - it is a diverse place with people of all faiths and beliefs. This event is a wonderful example of our vibrant multicultural city, and I'm sorry to hear that there are people out there who feel like if it doesn't fit with their beliefs, it should not exist. That's profoundly undemocratic, very bigoted and a little scary. I'm sorry to hear we have people like that in our community with such narrow-minded views. We'll commemorate those we have lost this year without you, and hope you are able to do so in your own, personal way too.

Glenn wrote on Oct 27, 2007 1:15 PM:The mail person has even delivered the mail twice in the last four hours

Geoff wrote on Oct 27, 2007 2:07 PM:Oh, boy, "They moved cushions, door mats, a planter and other things which could have caught on fire in an effort to minimize damage, should embers fly by. So, it's not just luck." Well 'You', I only have one question..... Why didn't you move the things!

Thankful wrote on Oct 27, 2007 3:48 PM:To Geoff: We live inside the closed-off area and were allowed to return to our home yesterday. We drove around the burned areas and mostly what's burned is vegetation. House after house was spared. A friend's home and their neighbors were saved in Stewart Canyon Monday morning--they were trying, but couldn't fight it themselves, and a crew from San Francisco came in and saved the houses. Let's just stick to facts rather than igniting malicious rumors.

JULES wrote on Oct 27, 2007 3:55 PM:WHAT DOES THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FIRES AND FIREFIGHTERS HAVE TO DO WITH THIS ARTICLE????WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CELEBRATION OF LIFE. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH DON'T LIKE IT GET OUT!WE ARE NOT HURTING ANY BODY OR STEALING OR ASKING ANY ONE TO COME IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. LIVE LIFE AND BE HAPPY, IT'S TOO SHORT NOT TO.

Becky wrote on Oct 27, 2007 4:00 PM:According to The Village News: As of 1:30 PM, residents are being allowed back into their homes in all areas of Fallbrook. Fire is 80% contained, School to resume Wednesday, Boil water if in Rainbow Water District...

Dan wrote on Oct 27, 2007 4:41 PM:My family has been in the Fallbrook area for over the past 20 years. I think your website is full of outstanding information for residents of Fallbrook. However, other news media has failed the residents of Fallbrook. Many residents evacuated towards Riverside and Los Angeles. They recieved news about Fallbrook through your blogs and your online articles. If it was not for NC Times, most residents would have been in the dark. Most of the media in those areas were concentrating on the Malibu Fires. The coverage should have been extended to cover both fires. My family lived in the Valley Oaks mobile park and they found out their mobile was destroyed. They found out by your website articles. Another thing that upset me was the San Diego Police. I was trying to find out information at the road blocks in Fallbrook. I thought the police were supposed to be helpful. The would not help me at all. They were pushy and did not want to answer my questions. I realize that they have probably been asked the same questions over and over again. However, my familys house was burnt and I just was asking about what was going on. The police showed no compassion that my house may be gone. They just wanted me to leave them alone. Thank you for covering fallbrook.

Rosie wrote on Oct 27, 2007 5:38 PM:I am very pleased that the North County Times published this article and that Oceanside community came together to celebrate this multi-cultural event on Sunday. Although I was evacuated from my home this past week, I am thankful to be able to celebrate life and honor those who are no longer with us.

Mo wrote on Oct 27, 2007 11:58 PM:To Geoff: Its sad to see that while I am home alone with my newborn because my husband has been in Fallbrook for a week now saving your homes, not sleeping, cleaning up your resident's illegal dumpsites that have become hotspots, I get to read horrible comments like yours. If you feel that way maybe my husband can come home and let YOU clean up the mess and stop the fire. You must be qualified right. Know how to do a hose lay. Know where to shoot the fire so that it controls the fire and doent make it worse. Know what to do when the fire burns you over and your life flashes before your eyes. You are so ungrateful and a total idiot.

Deltadan wrote on Oct 28, 2007 5:46 AM:We have some real Hero's here in Fallbrook. Gary has saved at least three homes by his actions starting last Monday ( He did not leave his home)

Kris wrote on Oct 28, 2007 11:44 AM:These fire fighters are doing the best they can to help everyone in danger. For those who have lost a home, please do not blame a firefighter for your loss. These men and women have worked tirelessly for days and days, with out much rest or sleep for that matter, away from their own families and homes, risking their own lives to help the homeowners *and animals too* there. Just because you do not see the fire fighters and 'jumpers' in your backyard, does not mean they are not there battling the blazes that are racing towards you. To Geoff, I am glad you saved your home. Kudos! That's "One" for you, and 123984723 for the fire fighters. Grateful much?

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