Sherman Heights Community Center is marking 32 years of honoring the dead, with its annual Día de los Muertos program running from October 15 through November 2 at 2258 Island Avenue in San Diego. The celebration mixes community altars, craft workshops, student tours, food events and a candlelight procession, carrying forward a tradition that has filled the neighborhood every fall since 1994.
According to KPBS, the celebration is a Sherman Heights Community Center production built around altars, workshops, film, food and the closing procession, with daily listings typically beginning at 11 a.m. The center itself describes the festivities as open to the public, noting that the season runs from mid-October through November 2, per Sherman Heights Community Center.
The tradition traces back to a single request. Sr. Domingo Sandoval, a local resident, approached the center in 1994 asking for a space to build an altar in honor of his loved ones, the center recounts. That gesture grew into an annual institution — three weeks of programming each fall and, by the center's own account, thousands of visitors over the decades, with altars still built by the same neighborhood that started it.
Altars, Workshops and a Mole Night Kick Things Off
The program opens October 15 with Noche de Mole, a fundraiser running from 6:30 to 9 p.m. that features regional mole tastings, drinks, live entertainment and an early look at more than 25 community altars, according to the community center's events page. From there, the celebration expands into onsite community altars, front-yard altars scattered throughout the neighborhood, craft workshops, online tutorials and videos, student tours and food tastings — all part of what the center calls a festivity that preserves a millennial Day of the Dead tradition.
Self-guided altar viewing is free and open to the public October 20–23 and October 27–30, Tuesday through Friday, from 2 to 6 p.m., the center's site states. During those same date ranges, school groups can reserve guided bilingual tours paired with hands-on workshops from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to San Diego Explorer.
Closing Weekend Brings Full-Day Programming and a Procession
A full-day Día de los Muertos program is set for November 1 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the center's schedule shows. The season then concludes the next day with a candlelight procession, though the exact closing hour is in dispute: the community center's own calendar lists the procession from 4 to 9 p.m. on November 2, while San Diego Explorer reports it running from 4 to 10 p.m. and describes it as free and open to all ages. Organizers advise attendees to check the host's website for the latest schedule, since event times can change.
Community support for the celebration has kept building. The event has grown over the years in both community support and interest in setting up altars, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported after last year's gathering, which drew more than 30 community altars decorated with photos, marigolds, candles and favorite foods of the departed. The newspaper also noted that intergenerational education has always been a fundamental aspect of the celebration in Sherman Heights.
A Neighborhood Ritual With Deep Roots
Last year's candlelight procession included Danza Azteca dancers who walked from the Centro Cultural de la Raza before joining the march through the neighborhood, the Union-Tribune reported. The ritual has shifted shape over the years — back in 2018, the 24th annual celebration featured a Muertos Festival with altar installations, music and food from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., followed by a candlelight procession that traveled from the community center to Chicano Park at 7 p.m., the newspaper reported at the time. NBC San Diego has also described hundreds gathering at the center for past celebrations featuring altars, music, face painting and traditional food.
For residents planning to visit this year's altars or reserve a student tour, the Sherman Heights Community Center can be reached at (619) 232-5181 or [email protected].
