Un Mar de Colores · Pacific Beach, CA
The coast's cultural story belongs to Pacific Beach — not just tourist galleries and surf brand marketing.
Un Mar de Colores's Cultural Arts & Storytelling workshops center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices of the California coast — and Pacific Beach youth are welcome in every cohort. Quarterly workshops run throughout San Diego County in partnership with Kate Sessions Park & Rec Center and San Diego Junior Lifeguards, with summer artist residencies open to Pacific Beach 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
Pacific Beach sits between Mission Bay and the open Pacific, producing the mellowest learner waves in the city. Tourmaline Surfing Park — designated a surf-only beach in 1981 — is the safest and most instructor-friendly break in San Diego. Over 55% of students at Mission Beach Elementary, Pacific Beach Middle, and Mission Bay High qualify for free or reduced meals, making this one of our highest-impact urban partnerships.
Free cultural arts for Pacific Beach Title I students often connect through San Diego Unified School District referrals and Ocean Stewards after-school integration.
Guest-artist workshops bring professional BIPOC creators to Pacific Beach cohorts — mentors who reflect community, not imported tourist artists.
Environmental justice in Pacific Beach 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.
From Pacific Beach's Title I schools to the sand, our pipeline is built on real partnerships — not generic 'serving the area' language. Every cohort names the schools, beaches, and community orgs involved.
Un Mar's primary Pacific Beach teaching location. Designated a surf-only beach in 1981 — the safest and most instructor-friendly break in San Diego.
Tourmaline was designated surf-only by San Diego City in 1981, making it the first formally protected teaching beach in Southern California.
South side of pier offers a sand-bottom peak ideal for graduating students from Tourmaline.
Crystal Pier was built in 1927 and is one of only two piers in California with an overnight hotel (Crystal Pier Hotel & Cottages).
In partnership with San Diego Unified 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 is a member of the surf equity ecosystem across California — connected to Surf Justice Collective, Native Like Water, and cross-border watershed coalitions.
“"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."”
All ages welcome — youth, teens, adults, grandparents, and families from Pacific Beach. Multi-generational participation is encouraged, especially for oral tradition and storytelling sessions.
Yes — 100% free. All art supplies, guest-artist instruction, bilingual materials, and exhibition opportunities are included. Commercial youth art classes in San Diego County often charge $30–$80 per session. Pacific Beach families pay nothing.
Arts integrate with watershed education (Tijuana River visual narratives), Ocean Stewards after-school, and surf camp afternoons. Pacific Beach youth see culture, environment, and ocean access as one movement.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in Pacific Beach are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Pacific Beach Middle, Mission Bay High, Mission Beach Elementary, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No Pacific Beach family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at Tourmaline Surfing Park. We also use Crystal Pier for skill progression. Classroom components happen at Kate Sessions Park & Rec Center and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages All ages. In Pacific Beach specifically, our recruitment runs through San Diego Unified School District — with priority enrollment for students from Pacific Beach Middle, Mission Bay High, Mission Beach 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 Tourmaline Surfing Park, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In Pacific 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 Pacific Beach, where 28% 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 Pacific Beach surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 44%-BIPOC Pacific 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 Pacific Beach, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Pacific Beach Middle, Mission Bay High, Mission Beach Elementary and referrals from Kate Sessions Park & Rec Center and San Diego Junior Lifeguards. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Free means free. No hidden fees, no gear costs, no transportation charges for Pacific Beach participants.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for Pacific 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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