Sure, the skeletons symbolize death, but they're singing and dancing, blowing trumpets and playing guitars.

“The day has a celebratory tone at its essence,” said Carlos Von Son, a native of Mexico and professor at Palomar and MiraCosta colleges. “It's not focused on the loss of loved ones, but on the gladness of having shared life with them.”

Area residents are invited to honor their loved ones during the daylong festivities by building ofrendas, or altars, filled with items that remind them of a person who died.

DETAILS Dia de los Muertos When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday Where: Pier View Way, east of Coast Highway, Oceanside Cost: Free Information: (760) 754-4512

A chalk cemetery will be set up in Artists Alley for families to draw a memorial for someone who died.

“It's personal and yet it's communal because it's about individuals, and yet when you see them all together, it's about the community,” Von Son said.

Von Son got the idea for the chalk cemetery after he noticed that the squares of concrete in Artists Alley look like little tombs.

“People draw beautiful things there, and they don't have to be as elaborate as the large ofrendas,” he said.

People can put a marigold and a candle on each square of the chalk cemetery. The light and warmth from the candles and scent of the flowers is said to guide the spirit of the departed to visit those keeping vigil during the Day of the Dead. Von Son and his students are slated to put on a parade that parodies death and will give tours explaining the meaning behind the ofrendas built by Oaxacan and local families and artists.

The ofrendas are reminiscent of ones traditionally set up in Mexico that include loaves of pan de muerto (or bread of the dead), marigolds and sugar skulls.

“The festivities are a blending of Mexican culture into American culture,” Von Son said.

The celebration has its roots in Mexico and Central America and is a connection to the past for many Mexicans living here.

“In Mexico, you go to the cemetery bringing flowers and candles and you might spend the night there,” said Mary Ann Thiem, who is coordinating the event. “This is how you honor your loved one who died.”

“People don't understand that this is not Halloween,” Thiem said. “It's a better way to think about people dying – it's not about mourning but about life.”

 

---