OAKLAND — They’re painting murals at the corner of 35th and International. Upstairs at the Unity Council on Fruitvale Avenue, plastic marigolds of yellow and orange, more than a foot wide, are being strung together to be hung on lightposts in the neighborhood.
It is fast approaching time for the annual Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebration, to honor loved ones and ancestors who have died.
Starting on the morning of Oct. 30 and going all day, tens of thousands of people will be in the streets outside Fruitvale Village, watching musicians and Aztec dancers and checking out booths.
More than 150 vendors from as near as local storefronts or as far as Oaxaca, offering everything from food and drink to artwork such as face-painting and silk screening or services, including voter registration.
A key feature of Dia de los Muertos celebrations worldwide is the creation of altars honoring the deceased. Framed by elaborate creations of marigolds and colored sand, the altars feature candles and images and other things specific to the people being honored.
Unity Council has commissioned 30, 10-feet-by-10-feet, to be displayed along 12th Street and up and down 34th Avenue from International to 12th, giving way to a 20-square-foot “Altar Mayor” on 34th in Fruitvale Village. Welcome ceremonies start at 10 a.m.
Fruitvale denizens got top priority from Unity Council when deciding who would make the altars. After that came other Oakland applicants, said Dana Kleinhesselink of the council. The artists will receive stipends of $300 to $500.
This will be the 21st Dia de los Muertos organized by Unity Council. The festival’s budget exceeds $100,000 and includes help from the city; AC Transit, which in addition to being a sponsor will reroute bus service all day that day; BART and Pacific Gas and Electric also chipped in and the San Francisco Foundation provided a grant to sponsor nonprofit organizations registering voters at their booths, organizers said.
“It’s a big economic day for the neighborhood, a way for us to bring in thousands of people to the community,” Unity Council CEO Chris Iglesias said.
“It’s not only a family-friendly event of cultural significance to the Latino community. When they actually come and visit, they realize there’s a working-class community here,” he said.
“It’s an important day to highlight this part of Oakland.
It is a little less crowded since it moved from International Boulevard to 12th Street between 33rd and 37th avenues, Kleinhesselink said, but there still will be tens of thousands of celebrants.
Headlining the entertainment is Banda Los Sebastianes, 20 performers from Mazatlan, and Funky Latin Orchestra, but there are three stages, so there is plenty more, too.
The Aztec dancers Nahui-Ehecatl will do the ceremonial altar blessing.
In the lead-up to the event, organizers have been hosting a series of workshops at Fruitvale Village.
On Monday, it’s sugar skulls and on Wednesday, people can help build the community altar at Fruitvale Plaza Park, 35th and International. The workshops are all free, materials included, and will be 5 to 7 p.m. each day.
People may drop off pictures, notes or other remembrances of their loved ones at the community altar.
Carnival rides are among attractions planned for the kids area at the southern end of the festival, at 37th Avenue.
And it wouldn’t be Dia de los Muertos without a show of shiny low-riders. See what Padrino’s Car Club has to show off on the 35th Avenue side of Fruitvale Village. Iglesias said he expects about 30 tricked-out, hopped-up “sleds” to be on display.
Unity Council is seeking volunteers to set up booths starting at 6 a.m., greet visitors and assist with other tasks such as taking photos and videos, or help clean up from 4 to 7 p.m. A volunteer training is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday at Fruitvale Village.
Volunteers will get a T-shirt, lunch from Otaez Restaurant and refreshments all day long.
Transportation couldn’t be easier, with BART trains running overhead in and out of the station, where a “beautiful archway” was set up to welcome passengers to the event, Iglesias said.
Last year, despite an early morning rain, 60,000 people made it out, so leaving cars at home is recommended.
Contact Mark Hedin at 510-293-2452, 408-759-2132 or mhedin@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Dia de los Muertos celebration
Sunday, Oct. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Held in and around Fruitvale Village, along 12th Street, from 33rd to 37th avenues.
12th Street will be closed to traffic, as will 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th avenues between International Boulevard and 12th Street.
The event is free.
