For nearly 30 years the Sherman Heights Community Center and the Centro Cultural de la Raza host an annual Day of the Dead celebration showcasing many beautiful, colorful and emotional altars.
The Mexican Holiday of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead in English, is known to be an emotional holiday evoking tears and smiles all at the same time.
Dia de lo Muertos Stories
"It is a very healing process, to your soul and those you love," said Pita Verdin.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
This year, Pita Verdin’s Day of the Dead altar has grown, sadly. Her loved one passed away this year of cancer. Now her aunt’s beautiful photo is on display alongside her father's and other loved ones she’s lost but is remembering.
"We always have them in our hearts, but when you put their pictures up and things they love it's like a beautiful, sad, emotionally-filled moment," said Verdin.
Day of the Dead can be traced back 3,000 years from the Meso-American civilization which spanned Mexico and Central America. Families created altars known as ofrendas to honor those in the afterlife.
"In Mexico, what we believe is the only people that die are those people that we forget, so the ofrendas is a way of remembering," said Gregorio Luke, a Mexican and Latin American art and culture expert.
Luke explains how throughout history the tradition of celebrating and remembering a loved one who is no longer with us has transcended cultures.
"So all the practices are meant to remember those that have gone and by remembering them we bring them back to life," said Luke.
An annual tradition that brings a sense of peace to families like Pita’s.
"Now people understand and know what we’re doing and they realize it's not about Halloween, so the more people get educated the more people realize what we are celebrating and honoring our loved ones," said Verdin.
