San Diego is best known for its beautiful beaches and ideal weather (rightfully so). But one notable and sometimes overlooked feature of the city is its proximity to Mexico. This offers San Diegans the option to jet down to Mexico for the weekend or even the day. It also means that remarkable aspects of Mexican culture find their way north across the border for us to access without needing a passport. One of these cultural experiences is the holiday el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
El Día de los Muertos is a holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief period (October 31- November 2) of celebration. There are many opportunities around San Diego to experience Día de los Muertos, but at the top of my list is the Sherman Heights neighborhood.
Before you Go
To learn a little bit about Day of the Dead before we left, I created these little worksheets and printed them out for my boys. They colored them in, and then we talked about all the different components. They weren’t exactly thrilled with the “school work” but I do think it helped them understand the meaning behind the different altars that we saw while walking the neighborhood.
You’ll also want to check the community website before heading out (https://shermanheightscc.org/ddlm ), as this will have a list of all the great activities, as well as a timeline for the festivities. The Sherman Heights Community Center also has an Instagram page that posts lots of up-to-date information.
Getting There
Sherman Heights is a historic neighborhood in the East Village of Downtown San Diego. You’ll get to Sherman Heights from the 5 freeway and then exit 22nd Street and continue onto Island Ave.
I tried to park as close to the Sherman Heights Community Center (2258 Island Ave, San Diego, 92102) as I could, as this is where the main activities and altars will be located. Street parking was ample and a mix between some lucky free spots and metered parking.
Día de los Muertos in Sherman Heights
The first thing we did when we got to Sherman Heights was check out the community altars at the community center. This was spectacular, with a sea of vibrant colors and altars that were absolute works of art.
If you are close enough to Sherman Heights to make multiple trips, there are also fun activities that start earlier in the month – many family-friendly craft workshops and a Saturday dedicated exclusively to activities for kids.
The highlight for me, though, was the neighborhood walk to view the community altars. There is a map on the Sherman Heights Day of the Dead page that marks homes in the neighborhood that have set up outdoor altars for public viewing.
I printed two copies of this map ahead of time so the boys could each carry one (rather than fight over who gets to hold the map) and guide us on our walk through the neighborhood.
There were numerous homes where the owner came outside to tell us about the family member for whom they had constructed an altar. They walked us through all of the different items on the altar and the special meaning that they had held for that person. I felt really lucky that the boys and I could have such a personal experience with the people of this neighborhood – the whole walk felt extremely special.
Conclusion
Sherman Heights is a neighborhood gem, and their Día de los Muertos activities are fantastic and kid-friendly. San Diego reminds me constantly that sometimes you don’t need to leave your hometown to open the door to a new world – I adore that about this city.
