Don visited from Flagstaff last week and we enjoyed two of Tucson's beautiful gardens, starting with a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) display at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Dia de los Muertos is a joyful, colorful Mexican celebration Nov. 1-2 welcoming spirits back to the realm of the living.
Frida Kahlo sculpture
Larger than life sculptures of La Catrina -- Mexico's Grand Dame of Death -- are an important part of the celebration. The ones at the garden are by Ricardo Soltero, who uses diverse media including papier-mache, recycled materials, wood, fiberglass and fabric.
Monarch butterflies play a big part in the celebration because they represent change and transformation. The Monarch migration occurs in the fall around the Dia de los Muertos celebration and symbolizes the return of the souls of the dead for the holiday.
Marigolds are also important because it's believed that their strong aroma can guide the souls of the dead back to the living.
Across town, the Tohono Chul Park gave a nod to Dia de los Muertos in its art gallery, including this quilt called "Sonoran Happy Hour." It's a collaborative piece between Kathleen Genz, who made the quilted fabric background, and Genevieve Guadalupe, who printed it with her Day of the Dead woodblocks.
The artists said, "These two Catrinas are sharing our respective favorite happy hour beverages, Mescal and Margaritas, in an iconic Tucson setting complete with a red tile topped stucco wall and saguaros."
Tohono Chul was also flush with pumpkins for its Glowing Pumpkin night walk. It was a little too much for me, but I'm sure the kids like it when the pumpkins are glowing in the dark.
While at Tohono Chul we ate at its inviting bistro, where we waited for our table in this sunny courtyard. It was too hot to eat outside, so we opted for the air-conditioned inside dining.
Our desert gardens are alive with color and sunshine in the fall. Here are some more photographs from both of them.
Last but not least, a sunset from my front yard:
Check out my blog posts three years ago about the same exhibit, where I gave much more info about the Catrinas:
Have a colorful day
3 comments:
No matter how much I learn about the Day of the Dead celebrations (and I learn more all the time), it all still creeps me out too much!
BTW, on your recommendation, I checked to see if my library had any of Don's books. They did not so I put in a request for one. Sometimes this results in an interlibrary loan and other times they decide to buy the book to add to their own collection. To my great pleasure, they bought the book and I am about to start reading it, having taken a quick look at the intro before finishing up a book in progress.
Glad you had a chance to show off some of your sights to him!
Great post with very inspirational photos......too cloudy here for us to experience the eclipse......but lots of color to appreciate as fall is here!!
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