So, while body-sculpted Californians wearing lingerie queue for a Halloween party at the huge ballroom of my downtown hotel, The Guild, close by others prepare for a very different experience: Dia de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead.
In the days leading up to November 2nd, a blanket of orange marigold flowerheads sweeps through the Mexican communities of San Diego in shrines to the dead. It’s more than an act of remembrance: for Mexicans, this guides the spirits of loved ones back to the land of the living for this annual celebration.
The best place to see these displays is the Barrio Logan district’s Chicano Park, which turned fifty this year. Framed photographs of the deceased smile at each other in their frozen poses, presiding over their mini empires of candles and incense among the sea of flowers. To further tempt the spirits are a few of their favourite things: cans of Red Stripe lager for one, bunches of bananas for another.
It’s so vibrant and moving, you almost forget about the noisy flyover above your head. The construction of this brutal freeway right over the community in 1969, razing homes and plunging it into the shadows, symbolizes oppression of the immigrant community. This was a population who felt neither welcome here nor in Mexico, so, they began to protest with art. Today, murals cover every slab of concrete in the eight-acre space, the largest concentration of Chicano (Americans of Mexican descent) murals in the States.
Like its big brother LA, a three-hour train ride away, San Diego is a sun-blessed place synonymous with golden beaches and surfer dudes. However, youth, diversity and artistic heritage have given San Diego an edge, and it’s fast becoming one of the coolest cities in America. It’s also walkable, divided up into distinct areas such as Barrio Logan, La Jolla, Little Italy, the world-renowned museum and gallery hub Balboa Park, and another district with a big Mexican population, North Park.
In this trendy neighbourhood, a touch of gentrification has merged with Mexican culture, colourful gift and design shops popping up around late-night burrito drive-thrus. Hipsters dress their tiny dogs for Halloween: one Chihuahua looks vaguely embarrassed about his pirate hat.