La Vista Memorial Park expects thousands for San Diego Day of the Dead

La Vista Memorial Park in San Diego’s Lincoln Acres neighborhood expects a couple thousand people to attend its Day of the Dead celebrations on Nov. 1. The event, which runs until midnight, marks the 20th year of an annual tradition at the site. Families have already decorated the rolling hills with marigolds, cut-paper banners, and personal altars.

The holiday, rooted in Mesoamerican and Aztec history, is observed on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. While many families begin preparations weeks in advance, the cemetery’s main festivities occur during the first two days of November. At night, participants believe the barrier between the physical world and the spirit realm thins, allowing souls to return for food, drink, and music.

Luisa McCarthy, co-owner of the park and mortuary, started the event after her father’s passing. Originally from Mexico City, she integrated the traditional Mexican celebration into the local cemetery setting. She describes the holiday as a tradition of love that frames death as a natural stage of life rather than a frightening end. She plans to oversee the event dressed as a Catrina, an elegant skeleton figure symbolizing equality in death.

Participants use the altars to maintain physical connections with loved ones. Angela Riggs, whose son Leo died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 2013, has built an altar at the site annually. She finds the process of assembling the seven levels and placing items like salt, water, and copal incense to be a therapeutic way to continue her role as his mother. Racquel Galicia, a bakery owner whose husband and grandson are buried there, shares pan de muerto, a spiced bread shaped like bones and a cross, with neighbors in the cemetery.

Thomas Gallardo lost his father last year and won the altar competition at the previous year’s event. He noted that the ritual helps him move through the grieving process by allowing him to let go. The official cash-prize contests for altars and Catrina costumes take place during the afternoon of Nov. 1, the day dedicated to the souls of children. Nov. 2 honors the souls of adults.

McCarthy encourages people of all backgrounds to participate, noting that the event differs from commercialized versions of the holiday. The public is welcome to visit and explore the cemetery. Anyone wishing to build an altar must sign up in advance. The celebrations include potluck-style food sharing among families, fostering a community among the deceased and their living relatives.