Un Mar de Colores · La Jolla, CA
Kumeyaay elders, professional artists, and La Jolla youth create work that returns to the community through exhibitions.
Un Mar de Colores's Cultural Arts & Storytelling workshops center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices of the California coast — and La Jolla youth are welcome in every cohort. Quarterly workshops run throughout San Diego County in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and La Jolla Recreation Center, with summer artist residencies open to La Jolla students via referral from San Diego Unified School District. All supplies, instruction, and exhibition opportunities are provided at no cost.
Quarterly workshops + summer artist residencies · Completely free
La Jolla Shores has the gentlest beginner waves in San Diego County — a gradual sandbar bottom, 500 yards of lifeguarded beach, and consistent waist-high surf. Our cohorts come from San Diego Unified's Muirlands Middle, Kate Sessions Elementary, and Mission Bay High, with curriculum support from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Windansea serves only our advanced Surf Athletic Scholarship athletes.
All ages cultural arts welcome grandparents and young children from La Jolla — intergenerational oral tradition sessions preserve family coastal memory.
Cultural arts near La Jolla Shores, Windansea Beach isn't tourist palm-tree painting — it's Indigenous and Latino reclamation of coastal narrative in San Diego.
Environmental justice in La Jolla isn't abstract: watershed health, beach closures, and plastic pollution affect the same communities we serve. Our programs connect surf skills to stewardship of San Diego's coastline.
Whether La Jolla is on the coast or on the coast inland, we treat transportation as part of the program — not an extra parents must figure out. That's how you build real access, not marketing copy.
The safest beginner break in San Diego County. Gradual sandbar, 500 yards of lifeguarded beach, consistent waist-high surf.
La Jolla Shores is home to Scripps Institution of Oceanography, our partner for marine ecology curriculum. The beach is protected by the La Jolla Underwater Park & Ecological Reserve.
Advanced-only break used exclusively for our Surf Athletic Scholarship cohort. Never used for beginner instruction.
Windansea is one of California's most historic surf spots, famously chronicled in Tom Wolfe's 'The Pump House Gang.' The iconic palm-frond shack dates to the 1940s.
In partnership with San Diego Unified School District and local community organizations, we recruit youth from 2+ 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.
Federal EIN 85-2947340. Mailing: PO BOX 232471, Encinitas, CA 92024. We operate on the ancestral lands of the Kumeyaay Nation with respect and community accountability.
“"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 — Latino and Chicano surf culture history modules center longboard traditions, barrio surf scenes, and coastal narratives excluded from mainstream media and San Diego Unified School District curriculum.
All ages welcome — youth, teens, adults, grandparents, and families from La Jolla. Multi-generational participation is encouraged, especially for oral tradition and storytelling sessions.
Kumeyaay elders participate in coastal storytelling and living culture modules alongside visual arts — elders as teachers, not symbols. La Jolla Indigenous and Latino youth learn cultural depth commercial surf culture erases.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in La Jolla are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Kate Sessions Elementary, Bird Rock Elementary, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No La Jolla family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at La Jolla Shores. We also use Windansea Beach for skill progression. Classroom components happen at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages All ages. In La Jolla specifically, our recruitment runs through San Diego Unified School District — with priority enrollment for students from Kate Sessions Elementary, Bird Rock Elementary. 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 La Jolla Shores, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In La Jolla, 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 La Jolla, where 22% 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 La Jolla surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 35%-BIPOC La Jolla 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 La Jolla, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Kate Sessions Elementary, Bird Rock Elementary and referrals from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and La Jolla Recreation Center. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Ready to get your child in the water? Contact Un Mar de Colores — priority enrollment for La Jolla Title I school students.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for La Jolla 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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