Last weekend National City partied with the dead.
The city’s annual Dia de los Muertos celebration included food, music and dancing over the gravestones at La Vista Memorial Park. The cemetery was scattered with marigolds and studded with oversized Catrinas, perhaps the most recognizable part of any Day of the Dead celebration – oversized skeletons made out of wood and paper mache bedecked with paint and flowers.
The eerie festive atmosphere was heightened by a Frida Kahlo-themed Catrina costume contest. Dozens of hopefuls lined the booths and stages, all wearing skeletal makeup and Kahlo’s trademark heavy eyebrows. Even National City Mayor Ron Morrison got in on the action, sporting a full face of Day of the Dead makeup and a “Viva Zapata” T-shirt.
Silvia Robledo, 47, won the costume contest, wearing a lacy white dress, a green scarf and a dove on her finger.
“I’ve been dressing up a couple of years now, and I’ve been really getting into it, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” she said.
Robledo, who does face painting on the side, dresses up as Day of the Dead-inspired characters for special occasions.
“The kids love it,” she said.
The event also featured an altar-building contest. People constructed altars laid out with ofrendas – offerings – to honor the dead. Some altars were whimsical, with life-sized Catrina figures sitting in rocking chairs to represent long-gone grandparents, knitting needles in their hands and their favorite cigars in their mouths.
Other altars were more somber and stark, like the one for Jesus “Chuyito” Ponce, a 19-year-old who was shot and killed in June on his way to a Chula Vista convenience store to buy snacks. As it grew dark, a group of children paused in a football game to kneel to light candles in front of his photo.
“We just came to celebrate with him today,” said his aunt, Dolly Salazar. “It’s our first year doing the altar.” She said that the family worked together to assemble the altar in just a few hours, and they were pleasantly surprised to win second place in the competition.
“We’re very happy.”
A brightly-lit altar had water, tequila and a Mexican and American flag. Southwestern College student Grecia Rivas, 20, said that it was built by IDEAS, a network for undocumented college students, for people who have died making the arduous trek across the desert between Mexico and the United States.
“They die alone, and there’s no one there to cry for them,” she said. “So we did this to honor those who come to the United States to find the American dream, not only for the adults, but also for the children.”
Besides the altars and Catrinas, the event featured Tijuana street opera, live bands and booths. This was the sixth year that La Vista Memorial Park has held a Dia de los Muertos celebration.
