Old Town Celebrates Día de los Muertos

On November 1 and 2, Old Town San Diego will hold its second annual event honoring Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. This unique holiday not only pays tribute to the presence of the dead among the living, but it is a colorful tribute to California’s Mexican heritage. Very different from Halloween, Day of the Dead is a celebration of life and death and is in no way ghoulish nor morose. And there’s no better place in San Diego than historic Old Town for a celebration like this with your family..

Forty local businesses, museums, and shops will create traditional Día de los Muertos altars to offer a unique free Tour of the Altars that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Businesses will also provide a variety of entertainment with music, complimentary hot cocoa and other traditional treats. Workshops with everything from sugar skull decoration to mini take-home altars, skull face painting and more will be available for visitors to take part in. Free lectures and presentations will be held daily at the Adobe Chapel as well.

Altars will be up for viewing on Tuesday, November 1 and Wednesday, November 2, from 11am to 8pm both days. Visitors will be able to watch some locations as they build their altars and interpreters will be on hand to explain the meanings of their particular altar throughout the two-day celebration.

On November 2 at 7pm the traditional candlelight procession will be held from the Whaley House Museum to El Campo Santo Cemetery. There, among the gravesites of Old Town’s earliest families, visitors may leave offerings of their own in honor of their lost loved ones. After the procession, after party events will be held at major restaurants and saloons throughout Old Town from 8pm to 10pm, these include Fiesta de Reyes, El Fandango, Café Coyote, Casa Guadalajara and more! Details of various establishments can be found on the events website page.

Visitors will be able to visit all of the Old Town altars using a free self-guided tour map, available online at www.WhaleyHouse.org and www.otsdguide.com and hard copies will be available during the events.

So head over to Old Town for the day and celebrate Día de los Muertos!

This event is brought to you by the Save Our Heritage Organization and the Old Town Chamber of Commerce.