El Dia de los Muertos

One of the most unique holidays in Tucson is El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Historically, November 1, the Day of the Dead, has been a day where primarily Hispanics honor loved ones who have passed on. They bring food, drinks, music, flowers, and momentos to local cemetaries and have parties or picnics graveside.

Several years ago, a band of local artists started the All Souls Procession in Tucson to honor the dead. What was once a small rag-tag procession around downtown has turned into two weeks of events, with a huge procession as the finale. The link here goes to the main website and calendar for this year's events. The procession itself is November 9, 2008.

Last year, I walked in the procession (in costume, at right) and took tons of pictures with my Nikon Cool Pix. That camera has a "party" setting which allows for two flashes within one long time exposure. I used this setting for most of my procession pictures. At top is "Danny Boy, the Pipes Are Calling"; this photo will be hanging in the Go Boldly Exhibit at Central Arts Gallery in November. There are some here and more on my Flickr site. I'm looking forward to seeing how my new Nikon digital SLR does at the procession this year.

On the weekend, my daughter and I shopped around on 4th Avenue for costume accessories for this year's procession. I bought a red petticoat and long red satin elbow-length gloves. What fun! Stay tuned for 2008 DOD pictures.