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First Person: Remembering And Honoring Departed Loved Ones On Dia De Los Muertos

Pita Verdin, standing next to her Dia de los Muertos altar at her home in Sherman Heights, October 29, 2017.
Pita Verdin
Pita Verdin, standing next to her Dia de los Muertos altar at her home in Sherman Heights, October 29, 2017.
First Person: Remembering And Honoring Departed Loved Ones On Dia De Los Muertos
First Person: Remembering And Honoring Departed Loved Ones On Dia De Los Muertos GUEST: Pita Verdin, Sherman Heights resident

The Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebration has become a family tradition for Pita Verdin.

For nearly 20 years, Verdin has created a colorful altar filled with marigold flowers, sugar skulls and mementos on the outside steps of her Sherman Heights home to honor her father's memory. The altar is part of several home altars now on display around the neighborhood for the 24th annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration in Sherman Heights. It's one of the region's longest-running Day of the Dead celebrations.

As part of our First Person series, Verdin talks about what Dia de los Muertos means to her.

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KPBS Midday Edition's First Person series tells the stories of average and not-so-average San Diegans in their own words. Their experiences, both universal and deeply personal, offer a unique lens into the news of the day.