SAN DIEGO — Across the globe, including in San Diego, millions honored their loved ones this week through Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.
The special celebration to remember our ancestors, as well as others who have passed away, took on even greater significance, as more than five million people worldwide have died of COVID-19 so far, including more than 4,000 in San Diego.
Marching from Balboa Park to Sherman Heights, San Diegans came together Tuesday to honor the lives of those who have passed away. Dia de los Muertos helps to celebrate their spirit and bridge the divide between the living and the dead through elaborately designed altars adorned with marigolds, as well as food, drink and other offerings.
"We pretty much guide them to our world to come hang out with us for a little bit," said San Diegan Sonia Camacho, who spent three weeks designing a special altar to honor children who have died, including 12-year-old Kyrin Carter, who drowned earlier this year.
"That is how I'm honoring him," Camacho told News 8. "Remembering him, letting him know, It's OK. We are all here."
The celebration also honors our elders, like Chicana artist Yolanda Lopez, who recently died.
"It's a celebration of life. [It's] very sentimental, knowing that a lot of these people didn't have to die during this time," said Ymoat Luna, vice president of Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park.
This includes the more than 4,000 San Diegans who have died so far from COVID-19.
A special Dia de los Muertos display at the San Diego County Administration building was created to pay tribute to all of them.
"It was just so recent, so for this to be here, to honor her.. was just nice," said Michelle Gilly, who, along with her sister Jeannette Brown, lost their 66-year-old mother Carmen Brown to COVID in September.
"In the hospital, we really couldn't get to be with her," Jeannette Brown said. "So this is good to be able to get together with other people who went through the same experience."
San Diegan Nancy Ryan lost her sister, 85-year-old Ellen Marie Ryan, last year.
"It means the world to me that there is this recognition," Nancy Ryan said.
"It reminds us all that we need to do our part to stop this and to get vaccinated and to help everybody," added family friend Barbara Picco.
WATCH RELATED: Celebrating 'Dia de los Muertos' in Old Town San Diego