10 Nov ‘Much Needed Medicine’: Pittsburg Residents Honor Life and Memory Through Día de los Muertos

At Pittsburg’s Día de los Muertos celebration on Nov. 2, in one portion of the prayer dance, the group danced a friendship song that called the audience to the middle to hold hands while they moved together.

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Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo 

Candles flickered and drums echoed throughout the Pittsburg Marina Community Center as hundreds gathered Nov. 2 to celebrate Día de los Muertos, a tradition honoring the cycle of life and the memory of loved ones. 

Sponsored by the city of Pittsburg and the Pittsburg Arts & Community Foundation, the annual event brought together families, dancers and East County residents to honor ancestors through music, dance and prayer. 

 

“This is much needed medicine,” said Antioch resident Marisol Solis, 40, who helped organize the Aztec dancers for the event. 

The ceremony began with an Aztec prayer that honored the space through movement and drumbeats. Rows of people filled the seats in front of the dancers, while behind them, community-built altars displayed photos of loved ones surrounded by marigolds and colorful decorations. 

 

Solis, a managing partner at Higgins Chapel and Oakview Memorial Park, said she sees death differently than those unfamiliar with Aztec traditions. 

El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a tradition that pays tribute to the cycle of life and honors those who have died. Rooted in Pre-Columbian customs, the celebration has been practiced in Mexico since long before Spanish colonization. 

According to the Smithsonian Latino Museum, the Aztecs once held rituals for the dead over two months in the summer. After Spanish colonization, missionaries moved the holiday to coincide with the Catholic observances of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. 

 

While Día de los Muertos is often confused with Halloween, Solis said its purpose is rooted in reverence, not fright. 

“A lot of the symbols are calaveras, which are skulls,” she said. “But in our cultural Indigenous traditions, the skull… is a representation of not the end of life but the beginning of a new one.” 

“We’re celebrating their life. We’re not honoring or worshiping the dead,” Solis continued. “I just find it a great opportunity to share this medicine, these cultural prayers with our community that needs it,” she said.

Now in its fourth year, Pittsburg’s celebration continues to grow. Solis helps bring danza groups, including Richmond-based Danza Azteca Teokalli, to perform each year. 

 

Solis said she has lived in Pittsburg since she was 5 and first encountered danza during a multicultural presentation at Pittsburg High School. Since then, she has worked to bring the tradition back to the community and help it flourish.

With more than half of Pittsburg’s population identifying as Latino, Vice Mayor Dionne Adams said the celebration reflects the city’s diversity and spirit. 

“It’s important to know that we really do celebrate the Indigenous and Latino community here,” Adams said. “Pittsburg is a place where we really are family.” 

 

She said events like these help her connect with residents beyond City Hall. “I think of this day really as, one, celebrating our ancestors and the gifts that they bring,” she said. “It’s spiritual and it’s sacred, and so you have to respect it.” 

Throughout the event, families offered prayers, burned copal incense, and watched performances by mariachi singers and choreographed dance groups. Vendors lined the walls with artisan crafts, while Rosie Q’s Cheesecakes served treats from a food truck parked outside. 

 

After their prayer, the Aztec dance groups formed a circle in front of the community center to give thanks and reflect on the ceremony’s meaning. 

“Jefa” Irma Piñeda, one of the group leaders, praised the dancers for their devotion and the energy they brought to the space. She reminded the audience that the dances are not performances, and the regalia is not a costume. 

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“Each part of our clothing, the feathers, the dots, the beads, the lines, everything that each person wears, also has a meaning,” Piñeda said. “Everything is energy.”