Dia de los Muertos
What a great night
to paint our faces like skeletons and walk around downtown Tucson.
Check out how creeptastic the Pilot looked!
*shudders*
His first time wearing guyliner 😉
Hayley and I were painted up, too:
Tonight was the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration and parade downtown, so we definitely weren’t the only people out there with painted faces. The actual celebration is November 1-2, but they always have the parade over the following weekend, instead of during the week.
Dia de Los Muertos is a Hispanic tradition (originated in Mexico) to honor those who are no longer with us. November 1 is to celebrate children and infants that have passed, while the 2nd is for adults. To honor the spirits of loved ones, families will often make their favorite foods, light candles, visit their graves, pray, and display photos of the family members. The events aren’t as somber as one would imagine- often they’re more lighthearted and focused on honoring the person’s spirit and reflecting on fond memories. [There’s a lot more that goes into it, which you can read all about on the Wiki page for Day of the Dead]
The skulls, or skeletons, are the symbol of the holiday, which is why many people will don masks or paint their faces. So even though the skeletons can kind of look scary, there’s nothing demonic about the tradition- it really is rather beautiful.
When I asked Hayley if she wanted to check it out, she was totally down with it, so the Pilot went to Walgreens to get our supplies, we painted up our faces and drove down to Congress St.
During the parade, thousands of people walk the course, holding photos to honor those who have died,
play music and dance
spectate,
[Kitty on a leash, meet skull kitty on a leash]
wear stilts and dress in costumes,
some of which have everything to do with the holiday
and others that…. don’t. [but are awesome]
The bonus: the Pilot estimates that we got in about 4 miles of walking during our people-watching and parading 🙂
After the parade, we met up with Kyle (my bro) and little Meg at Frog & Firkin for some burgers and football:
Veggie burger for me, and I had asked for a side salad instead of fries. As you can see, it came out with a plate full of crispy, well-seasoned fries, so I took that as a clue that I was supposed to eat them instead of sending them back. They were fantastic.
Time to wash my artwork off and call it a night!
See ya in the morning <3
xoxo
Gina
Where’s your favorite place or way to get in bonus cardio? I love walking around at the mall or outdoor mall, and think theme parks are amazing for this, too. It’s especially amazing when you can people-watch <— my fave sport
What cultural traditions do you celebrate?
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Ahahahah omg. Wait I love it. Traditions are so cool, and Tom looks so scary. In a good way of course. I’m glad you had fun loveyy!!
Your shirt is the greatest.
We celebrate dia de los muertos even though it’s definitely not a big thing here. We actually celebrate a lot of random holidays even though they aren’t culturally our holidays. But if friends celebrate them or we just think they are cool we go for it.
Such an interesting event! The pilot’s man-makeup is awesome!
That’s awesome that you were able to attend and celebrate…and people watch! I bet you saw tons of really interesting sights 🙂 I give you major props for walking around in crowds as preggers as you are. When I got farther along I had the stamina of a flea and spent more time at home than out and about…haha!
Love your painted face pic!
How fun! Nice job painting faces- I did this on Halloween and actually the Friday before to practice 🙂 My favorite bonus cardio is headed downtown (Providence or Boston) and walking around.. especially at night- there are so many beautiful sights that I get sucked in and could walk around for hours and hours 🙂
Your face paint looks so amazing! Especially the Pilot’s. Such artistic talent all around! I love to get bonus cardio by strolling through the park with my man. Nothing beats it! As for traditions, every Christmas Eve, my family and I walk around LaSalette Shrine. It’s so peaceful and beautiful. 🙂
Haha that skeleton kitty totally cracked me up!
Shopping is definitely my favourite way to get in some extra cardio. And if I buy enough stuff, it also turns into a weights workout for the arms too. 😉
Haha the Pilot looks like The Crow! I love the Dia tradition, sweet and respectfu.
I always really appreciated the reasoning behind this tradition and wish it was more common to have a celebration to honor those we loved. When I taught Spanish we always did a big thing about it in all the classes. It really did make me reflect. Plus, it is treated as a fun celebration of sorts. You’re so right!
That looks like lot’s of fun..and great people watching! The Pilot looks super creepy!
What a fun tradition! The face paint kinda creeps me out a little, but I’m a wuss when it comes to anything even remotely scary. haha
I love taking long walks with my husband and dog as a way to sneak in some extra cardio. Especially when they involve a latte along the way. 🙂
I love that tradition! When I was in elementary school, our Spanish teacher would always have a big celebration and I looked forward to it every year. I think it’s a nice to celebrate your loved ones’ lives!
I love walking around and people walking. It’s one of the reasons I love running along the boardwalk down the shore. There’s always someone or something to look at!
“I took that as a clue that I was supposed to eat them instead of sending them back” — Love it! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered away my beloved french fries to be healthy, only to have them come anyway: it’s destiny!
You guys look awesome. I vote that pic goes on the Holiday card 🙂 Here in Mumbai it was “all saints” day so everyone was decorating the graves with elaborate flower decorations- making crosses and fancy designs. India actually has a large number of Christians because of the Portuguese “invaders” (not sure how to put that) and of course the British. On our block we have two shrines, a mosque, and the “mount mary steps” which lead to a huge church where everyone prays for miracle to virgin Mary.
Disneyland is a great place for both extra “bonus” exercise and most definitely people watching! The people watching may actually be the better of both options! A Disney annual pass was definitely a worthwhile investment last year 🙂
How fun!!! I think your pregnancy bones T-shirt is adorable too. 🙂
Not a big cultural celebrationist – except major holidays. That’s about it.
yay! so fun! this is the first year we didn’t go, but normally my husband wears the super tall masks – last year he was a giant goat 🙂
My favorite way to get in bonus cardio is taking a walk during lunch to get some blood flowing. I follow more cultural traditions when I’m home with my mom since most of them involve traditional foods that I have no idea how to make.
Such a cool holiday!!
Will you post the link of the rocking chair that you guys decided to get for your nursery.
I have a friend that is looking for a modern rocker and I was interested to see what you
guys decided on!
Thanks!
I’ve always wanted to go to a Dia de los Muertos celebration! So fu!
Oh my goodness! I have to admit, all those skeletons kinda freak me out. I don’t know if I could walk around that festival at night! I looks like you guys had a good time though. Your face paint jobs were pretty awesome too! I love to walk around and people watch too, especially down town in a new city.
Wow, great pictures (especially the cats – whoa). I definitely know what my Halloween costume is going to be for next year!
Soooo awesome! The Pilot looks scary, and you look cute – as always! I wrote about Dia de los Muertos today too 🙂 http://www.confessionsofachocoholic.com/restaurants/dia-de-los-muertos-dinner
I love going for a walk along St. Charles Ave, here in NoLa. The homes are gorg, street cars pass every once in a while, and the trees are so pretty. It’s love 🙂
I love the skull kitty 🙂
Love Dias de los muertos! I celebrate every year and a lot of my paintings revolve around it. My mother and I actually went to a parade just this weekend in San Juan Bautista (here in CA) Teatro Campesino throws the event each year, it’s small but the atmosphere is surreal since it’s in the old mission town. Last year was amazing, this year was a little lackluster and the threat of rain must have speed everyone up but it was still fun seeing people dressed up and the Aztec dancers. Pilot looks amazingly freaky. Love your make up. I’m glad you get into the spirit of things in such a fun celebration of life and death.
I’ve never participated in a Dia de los Muertos celebration, but I think it’s a beautiful concept. Your faces look awesome!
Also, the mention of shopping cardio reminds me of an episode of SATC, when someone suggests to Carrie to shop online, and she was like, no way, shopping is my cardio. Lol.
SO fun! It’s making me quite homesick, because although I have lived in Vancouver, BC for a couple of years, I am from the Cayman Islands, and it’s around this time of year that we have our Pirates Week celebration each year. A week of festivities celebrating local heritage and totally exploiting all the pirate myths of our region with parades, street dances and staged events like ‘kidnapping the governor’. It’s always so fun.
Looks like you guys had a great time!
This is so cool! I wish we had a parade like that where I lived. I love the non-creepy vibe combined with the creepy visuals 🙂
that is very cool!
My favorite way to get in bonus cardio is walking to and from work every day. I live in NYC and the people here think I’m insane (especially cause thus far no weather has stopped me), but I like it because it’s extra exercise (almost 4.5 miles a day!) I love city walking, coming from the west coast where you have to drive everywhere it’s so nice to walk, and I find it very therapeutic. Oh! And it’s free 🙂
I love that you guys do Dia so big there! It’s a wonderful tradition, and those are fabulous pictures!!!!
Skull kitty pic is brilliant…I concur with the lady above, the Pilot looks like The Crow! You all looked great.