OCEANSIDE -- Downtown Oceanside was transformed into a marigold-laden Mexican plaza Sunday as festival-goers celebrated Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican tradition dating back 3,000 years that honors the memories of the deceased.

"It's a celebration of the lives of loved ones who aren't here anymore," said Cathy Nykiel, coordinator of the sixth annual event hosted by MainStreet Oceanside, a nonprofit group that promotes the downtown area.

The vibrant street festival on Pier View Way at Coast Highway drew thousands of people who watched Azteca dancers twirl in colorful skirts, ate hot tamales and examined elaborate "ofrendas," or altars, created by local families and college students to honor the dead.

Kyle Morman of Camp Pendleton and Teresa Herrera of Oceanside were hand-in-hand as they swayed and shook their hips to the sounds of Mexican horns and trumpets.

"It's a new experience for me," said Morman, an Indiana native. "It's very eye-opening. There's some really nice tributes."

Typically observed Nov. 1-2 to coincide with All Saints' Day on the Catholic calendar, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is founded on the belief that the gates of heaven open at midnight Oct. 31 to allow the spirits of deceased children to reunite with their families for 24 hours, said Carlos von Son, a Spanish and Latino American literature professor at MiraCosta and Palomar colleges.

Tradition holds that on Nov. 2 the spirits of adults descend to join the festivities. Families clean their loved ones' tombs, prepare their favorite dishes, listen to their favorite music and spend the day reminiscing about those they lost.

"In the Latino culture, death is not seen as something sad; we play with death, poke fun at death, dance with death," said von Son. "It's an inevitable part of life, and we shouldn't be scared of it."

At the heart of the festival was the use of more than 30,000 marigolds, the traditional Dia de los Muertos flower, grown especially for the day by Mellano & Company.

"The pungent aroma of the flowers rises up to heaven just like the spirits of the dead do," said Fran Connell, an Oceanside resident who has volunteered at the celebration for the past three years.

The scent of marigolds summons the spirits, guiding their way home with a path of petals, said von Son. Candles are also placed next to graves and altars to light the way.

Oscar Ramos, a North Park resident from Oaxaca, Mexico, fashioned his marigolds into a wreath, which hung above an altar dedicated to his father, grandfather and grandmother.

Ramos spent at least three hours arranging the display decorated with candles, sugar skulls and food his deceased family members had loved, like tamales and fruit.

"My father liked very hot salsa," said Ramos, pointing to a bowl brimming with red chillis.

The ornate altar also included pan de muerto, or bread of the dead, photographs of the deceased and a red toy truck, in remembrance of his sister's miscarried baby.

Other altars paid tribute to musicians Bob Marley and Elvis, to 15-year-old Oceanside teen Graham Suchman who was struck by a train in April, and to the four firefighters who died protecting a home in the recent Esperanza arson fire.

The festival also featured the artwork of Enrique Lazaro, co-founder of Muerto skateboards who was born in Guadalajara, a children's craft area, a retail mercado, and a chalk cemetery, where attendees created their own ofrendas on the sidewalk using chalk, flowers and candles provided by MainStreet.

North Park resident Lora Kueneman knelt over a section of sidewalk as she put the finishing touches on an intricate portrait of her father George. Kueneman, who teaches at the San Diego Art Institute, brought along a sketch of her father's face and her own pastels, working for an hour and a half on the dedication.

"I thought it would be wonderful to pay tribute to my father, who was my best friend when he was alive," said Kueneman, as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Contact staff writer Noelle Ibrahim at (760) 761-4404 or nibrahim@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.