By Molly Freedenberg
Airbrush work by Jessica Atreides and Andrew Jones at last year’s Dia de las Muertos event at Five & Diamond. Photo courtesy of jonology.com.
With all the Halloween hullabaloo, it’s easy to get distracted from that other awesome holiday that comes this time of year: Day of the Dead. In fact, many revelers prefer the Mexican holiday, with its beautiful rituals and sincere honoring of the dead, to our bastardized American one, with its inebriated masses in slutty costumes. Lucky for all of us, we don’t have to choose just one or the other. So how should you celebrate on Monday, November 2?
The cornerstone of San Francisco’s Dia de los Muertos celebration is, of course, the procession in the Mission that concludes at the Festival of Altars. Meet at 24th and Bryan streets at 7pm for the lively parade, or at Garfield Park (26th and Harrison) at 8:30pm for the festival. (www.dayofthedeadsf.org)
But first, we’re going to stop by Dia de los Muertos with Five & Diamond, a reception celebrating the store’s second anniversary, featuring airbrush makeup by SOHA Collective and altars to beloved friends, and then join a procession to the larger parade on 24th Street. (5-7pm, free. 510 Valencia, SF. www.fiveanddiamond.com)
Can’t make it out on Monday night? Visit SOMArts later in the week for its 11th annual Day of the Dead Exhibition, featuring more than 50 artworks inspired by the Mexican tradition still on display through November 7. The gorgeous entries span cultures, mediums, and scale, filling the large front space with a maze of moving, reverent art. The gallery is open Tuesday-Friday, 2:00 – 7:00 pm, and Saturday, 12:00 – 5:00 pm.
(934 Brannan, SF. 415-863-1414, www.somarts.org)