Our first altar at Dia de los Muertos honored the 16 pedestrians killed so far in 2023

For the first time ever, Walk SF created an altar at San Francisco’s Dia de los Muertos celebration.

Our team set up an altar honoring the 16 pedestrian lives lost so far this year to traffic crashes. Each person was represented by a vase of cempasúchil (marigolds), and the table was adorned with traditional Dia de los Muertos symbols, like pan de muerto (bread) and calaveras de azucar (sugar skulls).

We weren’t sure what the response would be to our altar. We were overwhelmed by the emotions and gratitude shared with us.

So many people are feeling how dangerous our streets are, and share in our heartbreak for the lives cut short.

We asked people who stopped by to write what having safe streets means to them.

One person wrote this: “To me, safe streets mean a safe community with family and friend groups left intact, instead of forced into sudden grief.”

Another person wrote this: “Es tiempo para un cambio”, which translates to, “It’s time for a change.”

That’s right.

That’s why on Sunday, November 19, we will hold World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims outside of City Hall, and urge you to attend.

This event is where we stand in solidarity with those who have been directly affected by crashes, and demand that our leaders take bold action.

Thank you to the Marigold Project

It’s so important to have a community space where grief and healing can coexist. We’d like to give a big thank you to the Marigold Project, which has been hosted the Day of the Dead Festival of Altars for many years.