I love Day of the Dead more than Halloween. It is a time in Mexican culture that we commemorate those in our family who have died. We place photos of our deceased with the things they liked most in life from food to objects on alters. These alters are covered with bright Marigold flowers and candles. Incense is burned in front of them.
The tradition comes from Potzcuarro, Michoacán Mexico. In Potzcuarro there is a small island where the people bring food, drink, and music to the graves of their loved ones. They pray for their dead and hold a vigil where they eat, drink and play music at their deceased grave sites. Day of the Dead is as much as for the living as it is to remember the deceased love ones. I visited Potzcuarro at New Years in 2006. I couldn't get to visit on November 1 or 2, which is the Catholic All Saints Day and when the people of Potzcuarro go and pray for their deceased. Part of the tradition is the making of brilliantly colored sugar skulls and special sweet bread. Brightly colored paper mache skeletons participating in daily activities also decorated these alter. To remind the living that, “life is a walking shadow, a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.” (To poorly quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth) or as we are reminded on Ash Wednesday, “Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return” The Calaveras also make fun of death, with a hangman’s humor. Most people don’t understand this and consider it macabre. It is a way of relieving the terror of our own demise, and makes us remember that we should live this life to its fullest.


I am an atheist and don’t believe in an afterlife, but have come to the existential realization, that we need to make sure that when we leave this life we did more good than harm. I owe it to the next generation that I lived an unselfish life and tried what I could to stop war, poverty, and hunger. As a teacher I was compassionate, understanding and helped my students. As a wife I made my husband happy. That I loved the stranger and realized she/he was like me, humans with the same wants, needs and loves.

I learned of the Day of the Dead here in Los Angeles and have been going to Day of the Dead celebrations for years. We have made alters at school and last week I went with some friends to the Hollywood Cemetery Annual Day of the Dead art exhibit. Not only did families setup alters but also artist that made political statements. These included alters that mourned the deaths of hundreds of women in Juarez Mexico, the hundreds of undocumented workers who died of thirst as they now cross the boarder in an unforgiving desert, and of those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan from soldiers to civilians. It was a sobering experience, but also as in Mexico filled with lots of color, music and food. Some of the face paintings were works of art, and I have attempted to photograph some of them. It was dark when I arrived and was unable to get good shots of the alters, because I forgot to take a tripod.

Attached are photos of the Island in Potzcuarro Lake where the tradition started, an alter at school and photos of people dressed in Calaveras costume at the recent Hollywood cemetery. I have decided to share these photos through and email since I can not do it on Facebook so I decide to send them in an email. I hope you enjoy them.