A 10-foot tall skeleton in a sombrero leaned over to ask if I knew what time it was.
Which is not that weird when you’re at a Día de los Muertos celebration with skeletons everywhere – on banners, as sculptures, painted on kids’ faces, and for sale on tote bags.
So, of course, there would be a skeleton with stilts, a full beard, and no watch.
When you think about it, the lack of a timepiece may be the least surprising part. Schedules are probably pretty irrelevant in the realm of the dead.
Phillip, Quijote, and I had showed up near the end of Mesa Arts Center’s festival. We started at the custom car show and worked our way toward an oversized Frida Kahlo skull made from tissue paper flowers, stopping to listen to a band on the way.
We visited the community altar, which was decorated with photos, candles, art, and flowers in memory of departed loved ones.
On a second stage, Mariachi Pasion, an all-woman mariachi band, began playing.
Continue reading “Downtown Mesa’s Día de los Muertos”