A "tattooed Oakland girl" compares the Dias de los Muertos celebrations in Oakland to those in San Francisco:
I can see how people get down on San Francisco’s Dia de Los Muertos celebration for not being authentico;
I understand why others deem Oakland’s as boring and not creative
enough. But isn’t that just an extension of the Oakland-SF rivalry, the
cities’ differences demonstrated through the observance of another
culture’s holiday?
I’m an Oakland girl, so I’m partial to an event where I run into
about a dozen people I know. And if nothing else, the Fruitvale
festival is thrilling for the mere fact that Oakland manages to hold a
peaceful public festival (I remember seeing stray
post-Festival-At-The-Lake rioters pass by the bottom of my block as a
kid—that was the end of that neighborhood event). Events like the Dia
de los Muertos celebration remind me why I love my hometown—though I
never really forget.
At
the same time, the Mission procession captures so much of San
Francisco’s cultural landscape. Just when you get disheartened, want to
write the whole place off as over-priced and gentrified, the city comes
through with something insanely creative or beautiful. Despite the
changing demographics, beneath the paling population and depressing
socioeconomics, San Francisco’s still a city with soul.
Read the whole thing at Lonely Girl Travels.
