SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Barrio Logan Cultural District hosted its annual Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebration on Sunday.

The holiday originates from Mexico and is meant to honor ancestors.

This year’s theme was called “Barrio Mágico.” Sunday’s event aimed to take all traditions and stories passed down for generations in the Hispanic community and bring them to life again, like magic.

Logan Avenue beamed with bright colors, costumes, decorations, and altar installations throughout the streets.

There were vendors like Juanita Maciel, who participated for the first time at the festival. Her business sells plants, succulents, arts and crafts, and more.

“I wanted to keep my low prices and good products, so I decided to open my own nursery,” Maciel said.

There were also food vendors, including one that stood out for selling spiral potatoes.

Zaida and her parents were working at the Apaa Churros stand, and Zaida shared why this holiday is an important part of her culture.

“It shows the meaning of life is not like death,” Zaida said. “We see it as a good thing instead of a bad thing.”

Barrio Mágico also featured art installations, including one by artist Laureyn Pacheco.

Pacheco called her artwork “The Tree of Life” because it told the story of her ancestors.

“I have pictures of all of my ancestors, and the symbols here represent either different relatives or different parts of my family story and how they got to San Diego,” Pacheco said.

The festival featured a number of performers and dancers, including a duo called Los Guanchinangos.

Jorge Castillo said they were playing traditional music from Veracruz, and he explained why music is such an important part of celebrating Día de los Muertos.

“When people die, we say goodbye to them through music,” Castillo said. “The songs we play celebrate their life and their time in this world, and we send their spirits off full of music.”

Coming off their second bye week of the season, San Diego State was a 17.5 point underdog at home to a 5-1 Washington State team that was receiving votes in the latest Top-25 poll. They easily covered that spread, but missed a chance to pull off an upset.

The Aztecs let a 12-point, 4th-quarter lead get away in a 29-26 loss to the Cougars on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.

Down 14-12 in the second half, San Diego State engineered two straight scoring drives. The first touchdown came on a gadget play that worked to perfection. Freshman wide receiver Jordan Napier took a reverse and, on the run, threw a dart to fellow wideout Nate Bennett for a 27-yard touchdown and a 19-14 lead.

The defense forced a 3-and-out and the Aztecs went on the march again, this time on an 11-play, 69 yard drive that ended with Marquez Cooper scoring his second touchdown of the game on one yard run to give SDSU a 26-14 lead with 13:39 to play.

After that, things stopped going their way.

Cougars quarterback John Mateer hit Carlos Hernandez for a 34-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 26-21. The Aztecs drove into field goal range but, on 3rd and 12 from the Washington State 22 yard line, true freshman QB Danny O’Neil didn’t see linebacker Taariq Al-Uqdah, who jumped in front of a slant route for an interception.

Mateer took the Cougars down the field and ran the winning score in himself on a 2-yard TD scamper. The loss drops the Aztecs to 3-4 and SDSU has an even tougher test next week then they hit the road to play 17th-ranked Boise State on Friday night.

Countywide, 39 vote centers will open Saturday for people who want to cast their ballots early for the November General Election.

The centers will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Nov. 2, more than 200 locations will be open during the same hours through Nov. 4.

Find a vote center near you with this map or this list

Vote centers have replaced polling places and provide multiple services, such as allowing for in-person voting or dropping off ballots, voting using an accessible ballot marking device, receiving assistance in multiple languages and registering to vote or updating voter registration to vote the same day.

County staff remind the public that campaigning or electioneering within 100 feet of a vote center or official ballot drop box is illegal.

For people who still want to register to vote, they can also visit the San Diego County Registrar of Voters’ office in Kearny Mesa to provisionally register between Saturday and Nov. 5.

Voters can check whether they are registered at www.sdvote.com/content/rov/en/Registration.html.

Election materials are also available in Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese.

Early voting has begun, with mail-in ballots already sent to every registered voter. The registrar’s office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and people can also vote early in person there.

On Nov. 5, Election Day, all vote centers and ballot drop boxes will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A list of the locations of official ballot drop boxes and voting centers can be found at www.sdvote.com/content/rov/en/elections/election_information.html.