Oakland Día de los Muertos event unveils 34-foot La Catrina statue

By John Ramos

For those in the Hispanic community, the day after Halloween is Día de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead,” a celebration to remember loved ones who have passed on.  And on Sunday, in Oakland’s Fruitvale District, the crowds were expected to reach record levels, with a new piece of artwork taking center stage.

As the crowds poured into Oakland’s Fruitvale Transit Village, Don Wren, who spends a lot of time in the area, said he had never seen anything like it.

“It’s the biggest I ever went to!” he said. 

It would have been hard to miss. The streets were jammed with people. The Día de los Muertos festival is known to draw up to 100,000, but this year they were predicting it could be 150,000.  All coming to celebrate the idea that, basically, in the end, we all face the same fate.

“Basically, it means we all end up in the same place. No matter how decorated, how beautiful, how much money you have, we all end up passing away,” said Blanca Martinez, communications coordinator of the Unity Council, which organizes the annual event.

Along with local vendors stretching for blocks down International Boulevard, there were altar displays created by local artists.  Wendy Rodas filled hers with items that reminded her of departed friends and family.

“So, we have a couple of people from work, you know, my grandparents, a cousin who died young. So, it’s all different ages,” she said.

It also included a photo of her father Faustino along with a bottle of Coca-Cola that he loved so much. There were pet pictures and even some feathers to remember the chickens Wendy used to raise.

“I remember them all,” she said. “They gave to us, so it’s a good way to honor them back and remember, you know, that they provided and here we are remembering them.”

The happy skeleton image that is so commonly seen for the holiday is called La Catrina, and this year, it’s also hard to miss. The Unity Council commissioned some artists in Mexico City to create a gigantic 34-foot statue of La Catrina.  

It’s said to be the largest in America. Its journey to Oakland from Mexico is meant to symbolize the same journey that many in the Latino community made to end up in the city. It stands with arms outstretched as though welcoming people, and on her dress is the inscription: “Bienvenidos. Aqui estamos Y no nos Vamos,” which means: “Welcome. We are here and we’re not leaving.”

“It’s the theme of our festival, so we wanted to have it on there,” said Martinez, with the Unity Council. “So, it’s the theme of our festival, and it’s also ‘la lucha continua,’ which means the battle continues. So, we know it’s a continuous process, but we just wanted everybody to know that we’re here; we’re not going anywhere because we do serve a huge Hispanic community.”

Martinez said there are days when it feels like they are in a constant struggle.  

“But when you see stuff like this, it kind of inspires you, you know?  It keeps you going,” she said, looking up at La Catrina. “It kind of goes hand in hand with, yes, it is a battle, but we have our small wins are wins, and we’ll take each win that we can get.”