Thousands of people gathered on International Blvd in celebration of the 30th annual Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) Festival in the Fruitvale District on Nov. 2.
Vendor booths, food trucks and community organizations stretched from Fruitvale Ave all the way to 42nd Street. Parallel booths displayed lowriders and tricked out cars from 35th back to Fruitvale Plaza.
A section of 12th St near Clinica de La Raza and the Fruitvale BART station hosted numerous ofrendas, or public altars in honor of the departed, including an altar for Oakland firefighters.
Ofrendas and costumes prominently displayed marigold flowers. The marigold was sacred to the Aztecs and is known as cempasúchil, “the flower of 400 lives.” Many of the altars included papel picado, decorated paper cutouts.
Ofrendas also included food and beverages for the departed to enjoy. Dia de los Muertos is viewed as a party where the spirits of the dead join the living in a celebration of their lives.
Skeletal figures known as “calacas,” sometimes in fancy dress, also appear in the altars. Some participants dressed up as skeletons and made their faces with half or full skulls to represent the closeness of mortality and the social equality of death.
The event featured three stages for music and dance. Dancers of Nahui-Ehecatl kicked off the festival with a purification ceremony and performance.
The theme for the 30th festival was, “Here We Are and We’re Not Going Anywhere.”
Oakland. Photo collage by Howard Dyckoff. 
More photos by Howard Dyckoff.
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