all things ashdown: All Souls

Earlier this month we went to the All Souls Procession here in Tucson. We were told that was the essence of what Tucson is. We didn't have any idea what to expect or what it meant, but with some good friends, we piled into the car and went downtown.

Prior to showing you the wonderful pictures from the event, I'll give you a little history so you aren't as bewildered as we were:

The All Souls Procession is perhaps one of the most important, inclusive and authentic public ceremonies in North America today. The Procession had its beginnings in 1990 with a ritualistic performance piece created by local artist Susan Johnson, who was grieving the passing of her father. Inspired by Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos holiday, Johnson felt she should honor her father in celebration and creativity. The performance was very well received and many artists were inspired to continue growing the Procession into its modern incarnation.

Today we find ourselves organizing over 20,000 participants on the streets of downtown Tucson for a two-mile long human-powered procession that ends in the finalizing action of burning a large urn filled with the hopes, offerings and wishes of the public for those who have passed. Inside the event are myriads of installation art, altars, performers, and creatives of all kinds collaborating for almost half the year to prepare their offerings to this amazing event. The All Souls Procession, and now the entire All Souls Weekend, is a celebration and mourning of the lives of our loved ones who have passed.

We left the house (after an amazing pulled pork sandwich dinner) a little late to make it to the procession, in an attempt to catch them mid march we found a parking spot on the road a few blocks away from where we thought they would be going. All four of us ran down the street and all of a sudden we came up to the destination of the procession. A giant crowd had already gathered there because the official group was just then entering and beginning the party. We pushed our way through the mob to find the mass movement. We made it and snapped a few pretty sweet pictures. I'll let them tell the story in context of the above explanation.

These two gentlemen, I believe, are what the procession began as in its inception. A throw back to the traditional dress of Dia de los Muertos. Just solemnly marching down the road thinking of those gone before. By the way, we looked around for some white face paint before we went, but they were sold out all over town.

This young lady was walking like a zombie, like only a few of her joints were working. Also, note the giant head immediately behind her. There were a few folks walking around with giant paper machet heads or figures attached to them. I'm not sure what significance they played in their dead ancestors.