From Garfield Square to 24th Street to Mission Street, the neighborhood played host to Día de los Muertos Thursday. Centered in Garfield Square, the celebration gave attendees a chance to remember loved ones who have passed on. Dozens of altars honored grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. (All photos by Sam-Omar Hall)
All month, residents and tourists have visited the panaderias in the Mission District to purchase the pan de muertos, a sweet bread traditionally made in the weeks leading up to the Day of the Dead or Día de Los Muertos. It’s as if the bread was a Mission tradition. But, only 42 years ago, it was not common fare. “We...
The Mission will remember and honor the dead this Thursday, Nov. 2, with the annual Día de los Muertos altars at Garfield Square and procession through the neighborhood – which the Marigold Project is raising funds for to cover permitting and other costs of putting on the event. Organizations throughout the neighborhood are also arranging for special events to mark...
Shotwell Improvements The 21st and Shotwell intersection will be getting new streetlights and crosswalks in the next few months, according to Sandra Zuniga of the city’s “Fix-It” team. PG&E will be installing four new streetlights at the corner of 20th and Shotwell, and the SFMTA is recommending the installation of more prominent crosswalks. Zuniga said she also requested more street...
As summer wanes, the San Francisco Symphony is being transformed into a celebratory space, showcasing elements of Mexican Día de los Muertos traditions. In past years, the production has included towering catrinas, colorful alebrijes and, of course, altars. Much of the cross-cultural festivities are orchestrated by musician and teacher Martha Rodríguez Salazar. Through her work at the Community Music Center, the Symphony, and beyond,...
Listen Local is Mission Local’s biweekly radio program. We broadcast live online at BFF.fm every other Thursday morning from 9:30 to 10:00. René Yañez, one of the artists crucial to bringing the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead to San Francisco, joins us to talk about the upcoming exhibition at SOMArts. This year’s exhibition, “Remembrance and Resistance,” opens Oct. 6...
Over the course of nearly a decade, Mission District music teacher Martha Rodriguez Salazar helped Latino song and tradition find a permanent home at the San Francisco Symphony. Now in its ninth year, the Symphony’s annual Día de los Muertos concert will again return to Davies Symphony Hall on Saturday October 5. As curator of the festival and music advisor...
On Wednesday, a crowd of more than 2,000 people gathered in the Mission for an annual festival of altars and procession commemorating the Día de Los Muertos Mexican ancestral holiday. San Francisco natives and visitors alike turned out for the event, which we covered all night here. Get to know a few of the people who stopped to talk tradition,...
As Rebekah Sitty approached the corner of Harrison and 26th streets in the Mission, a 12-foot tall rainbow welcomed her into the Day of the Dead altar festival. Sitty, who was joined by her partner and her two-year-old son on Wednesday night, has been coming to the celebration for 25 years. The first feelings that hit her were happiness and...
10:05 p.m. — We’re signing off as Day of the Dead celebrations wind down in the Mission. Scroll down for photos, videos and stories from this year’s festival of altars and procession — then be sure to check back Thursday for more coverage! It’s Día de Los Muertos, which means San Francisco is headed to the Mission. Check the updating...
Today could have been different for the Nietos. They thought their son Alex Nieto would have a permanent memorial in Bernal Heights by the time Día de los Muertos came. They envisioned leading the annual procession of mourners from the memorial to Garfield Park, where he and other victims of police violence would be honored at public altars. “We want...
