Un Mar de Colores · Imperial Beach, CA
Guest-artist workshops bring professional BIPOC creators to Imperial Beach cohorts across San Diego.
Un Mar de Colores's Cultural Arts & Storytelling workshops center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices of the California coast — and Imperial Beach youth are welcome in every cohort. Quarterly workshops run throughout San Diego County in partnership with Imperial Beach Sports Park and South Bay Alliance, with summer artist residencies open to Imperial Beach students via referral from South Bay Union School District. All supplies, instruction, and exhibition opportunities are provided at no cost.
Quarterly workshops + summer artist residencies · Completely free
Imperial Beach is the southernmost beach city in California and ground zero for our Tijuana River watershed work. Beach closures from transboundary sewage flows regularly impact water quality here, which is why our Imperial Beach cohorts combine surf instruction with direct environmental justice education — kids learn about the river and the coast as a single system. Mar Vista Middle and Imperial Beach Elementary are our flagship Title I partners.
Poetry and spoken word coastal workshops honor Imperial Beach barrio voice — ocean imagery from inland neighborhoods, immigration narratives, and Tijuana River memory.
Guest-artist workshops bring professional BIPOC creators to Imperial Beach cohorts — mentors who reflect community, not imported tourist artists.
When we say free for Imperial Beach youth, we mean wetsuits, soft-tops, rashguards, sunscreen, transportation, and instruction — the full stack commercial programs charge $50–$150 per session for.
With 26,324 residents, Imperial Beach is one of the communities where a single free surf cohort can change dozens of lives per season. Our shuttles and school partnerships make distance (on the coast) a logistics problem we solve, not a barrier families carry alone.
Primary Imperial Beach teaching location — WHEN water quality is safe. Tijuana River sewage flows regularly close this beach.
Imperial Beach sits at the southern terminus of California and is the closest beach to the US-Mexico border. The Tijuana River mouth is 2 miles south.
In partnership with South Bay Union School District and local community organizations, we recruit youth from 3+ Title I schools.
Cultural Arts & Storytelling at Un Mar de Colores is where the surf, the coast, and community narrative meet. Quarterly workshops and summer artist residencies bring together youth, professional artists, and Kumeyaay elders to create work that reflects the living cultural traditions of the California coast. Programs center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices historically marginalized in coastal culture, and every workshop ends with a public exhibition, publication, or film screening that returns the art to the community that made it.
Un Mar de Colores is recognized by partners including the San Diego Foundation, Surfrider San Diego, WILDCOAST, and school districts across San Diego — not a pop-up program, a sustained movement.
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Yes — every workshop cycle aims toward public exhibition, publication, or film screening. Un Mar partners with local galleries and museums to return Imperial Beach youth art to the community — not sell it to tourists.
Coastal storytelling and oral tradition, Kumeyaay history and living culture, Latino and Chicano surf culture history, visual arts (painting, mural, photography), poetry and spoken word, and film and documentary-making. Imperial Beach cohorts rotate through forms across quarterly workshops.
Kumeyaay elders participate in coastal storytelling and living culture modules alongside visual arts — elders as teachers, not symbols. Imperial Beach Indigenous and Latino youth learn cultural depth commercial surf culture erases.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in Imperial Beach are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Imperial Beach Elementary, Oneonta Elementary, Mar Vista Middle School, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No Imperial Beach family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at IB Pier. Classroom components happen at Imperial Beach Sports Park and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages All ages. In Imperial Beach specifically, our recruitment runs through South Bay Union School District — with priority enrollment for students from Imperial Beach Elementary, Oneonta Elementary, Mar Vista Middle School. Cohorts are age-appropriate (One Ocean for 6–12, Ocean Stewards for 13–17).
No. We begin every cohort with ocean-safety fundamentals in chest-deep whitewater at IB Pier, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In Imperial Beach, we also run pre-cohort pool-familiarization sessions at local community pools for students who request extra comfort-building.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs are bilingual — and in Imperial Beach, where 42% of households are Spanish-speaking, we intentionally pair at least one bilingual coach to every session. Cultural programming is delivered in both languages, and parent communications are always sent in Spanish and English.
Three ways: (1) everything is free, while most Imperial Beach surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 73%-BIPOC Imperial Beach community we serve; (3) our curriculum includes environmental justice, Kumeyaay coastal history, and cultural arts — not just surf skills. We exist because the ocean should belong to everyone in Imperial Beach, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Imperial Beach Elementary, Oneonta Elementary, Mar Vista Middle School and referrals from Imperial Beach Sports Park and South Bay Alliance. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Support the movement or enroll your youth — Un Mar de Colores is building coastal access for Imperial Beach families.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for Imperial Beach youth. Reach out to enroll, volunteer, or support the movement.
Un Mar de Colores is a BIPOC-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oceanside, California. We provide free surf, ocean, and environmental programming for youth across San Diego and Tijuana — bridging cultures, coasts, and communities since 2018.
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