Booming music, lively dancers and the smell of incense filled downtown Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon for a Día de los Muertos procession. 

The procession was the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara’s third Calenda to celebrate the Mexican holiday that honors loved ones who have passed away.

Large groups of community members packed both sides of the sidewalk on State Street to watch dancers and performers make their way from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to De La Guerra Plaza.

The energetic procession featured traditional music and dances from the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Guerrero from almost a dozen cultural groups.

Museum leadership was especially excited to welcome Los Diablos de la Costa to this year’s celebration, Dalia Garcia, executive director, previously told Noozhawk. 

The dancers represent the Afro-Indigenous community of Oaxaca and serve as a reminder of the survival and indomitable spirit of people who refused to forget where they came from and who continue to honor their ancestors, she said.

The performers donned horned masks with long facial hair as they danced down the street.

Another group, Danza de los Diablos, wore similar horned masks, with some having snakes protruding out of their skull masks, and snapped whips on the concrete ground.

Danza de los Diablos was a favorite for Ashley Macias, a Lompoc resident who attended the Calenda event for the first time on Sunday. 

“It makes me feel empowered,” she said. “It’s very traditional.”

Another crowd favorite was the Oaxaca Creations Monos de Calenda, which featured large papier-mâché puppets that towered over parade attendees.

Parade spectator Dana Loughlin comes each year, and her kids love the giant figures, she told Noozhawk.

Once the large procession reached the end of the route, a small market with food and craft booths was set up at Casa de la Guerra. 

The third Calenda comes after the museum hit a pause on the celebrations last year due to fears of federal immigration enforcement activity. 

Garcia, executive director of the museum, said the fears still exist this year, but the return is a “deliberate act of cultural specificity and resistance.”

The parade also comes amid a surge of federal immigration enforcement activity across the county, which local immigrant activist group 805UndocuFund has said is linked to an alleged statewide operation. 

Paola Cruz, a parade attendee, was excited to see the various groups and see an event centered around the Mexican holiday.

“Especially now, in this political climate, (they) are not afraid to show who we are,” she said.

She traveled from Los Angeles to downtown Santa Barbara to visit her sister, who attends UC Santa Barbara, and watch the parade for the first time. 

Employees at different stores along State Street glued themselves to their storefront windows, trying to catch a glimpse of the lively procession. 

Although Día de los Muertos isn’t until early November, that didn’t stop community members from celebrating Sunday.

People traditionally celebrate by creating ofrendas — altars with photos of their loved one, flowers, and any food or trinket the individual enjoyed while alive. 

Orange County residents Dominique Dibernardo and Travis Barrett stumbled upon people waiting for the parade during their visit to Santa Barbara on Sunday and decided to check it out. They said they enjoyed seeing other cultures’ celebrations. 

Earlier on Sunday, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art hosted a free family day for its 37th celebration of the Mexican holiday, which featured altar displays and art activities.