Every autumn I look forward to the season of the dead. I enjoy both Halloween for its macabre playfulness and the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, which superficially resembles Halloween in its skeleton imagery but is actually a non-scary, celebratory event. Dia de los Muertos, as it’s known in Spanish, falls on November 1 and 2, and it’s a time of joyful remembrance of departed loved ones.

Over the past decade or so, Dia de los Muertos has grown more and more popular north of the border, and Austin has readily adopted it. I’d never heard of the holiday before I moved here in 1994. But now the annual Viva la Vida parade, hosted by the Mexic-Arte Museum, is one of my favorite local events.

I love seeing the elaborate costumes of those in the parade, and spectators often paint their faces as skeletons and dress up too. Usually I watch the parade near the end of the downtown route, but this year I decided to catch it at the start, in East Austin.

It’s much easier to find a spot to watch at the parade’s start, but I missed seeing the crowd of festive spectators who congregate at the end. Still, I had a great time seeing the new additions, like these butterfly bikes. I don’t remember these from last year, but they’re marvelous.

This pre-Columbian dragon may be new too.

At noon the parade got moving, with marchers costumed as pre-Columbian peoples leading the way.

This papier-mâché horse and rider is a regular at the parade.

I especially enjoy the Aztec dancers’ costumes and dance moves.

They wear extravagantly feathered headdresses.

The men paint not only their faces but their bodies too, with colorful designs.

Check out this jaguar headdress!

Here come the butterfly bikes…

…and little princesses in the backs of pickups.

A shy smile

A giant puppet of Pancho Villa bobbed down the street…

…followed by Frida Kahlo and heroes of the Mexican Revolution.

Masked and straw-hatted marchers wearing serapes and carrying walking sticks passed next…

…followed by a big-headed skeleton with a posse of festively dressed skeleton women and men.

Folk costumes include full skirts, ruffled blouses, and flowery patterns and adornments.

This woman balances a liquor bottle (empty) on her head.

Skulls held aloft on poles

A giant Austin bat — the Aztec bat god Camazotz! — is the creation of artist Dennis McNett.

…accompanied by a larger-than-life skeleton

This car-sized skull, an old favorite, appears each year.

Another tall puppet

A flower-bedecked woman holding a bouquet of marigolds

And a solemn Catrina — an elegant, upper-class woman who symbolizes death, but who also is a reminder that even the wealthy cannot escape death.

This joyous turbaned woman is part of the Austin Samba group of dancers, and she sashayed down the street with a big smile…

…followed by white-costumed samba dancers…

…dancing nonstop to a rat-a-tatting samba beat.

Blogger Lee of The Grackle, in the blue sombrero, leads the drummers.

They were followed by colorfully painted lowriders.

The jacked-up cars bounced up and down as they cruised by.

Happy Dia de los Muertos! If you’d like to see additional posts I’ve written about Austin’s Day of the Dead parade, click these links:
Flower-adorned skeletons at Dia de los Muertos parade, 2015
Skeletons on parade: Day of the Dead 2010
Dia de los Muertos in Austin, 2008

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Digging Deeper: News and Upcoming Events

I’ll be speaking at the Antique Rose Emporium Fall Festival 2016 in Brenham, Texas, on Saturday, November 5th, 1:30-2:30 pm. Come on out to the Antique Rose Emporium’s beautiful gardens for a day of speakers and fun! My talk, with plenty of eye-candy photos, is called “Hold the Hose! How to Design a Water-Saving Garden that Wows.” Meet me afterward at the book-signing table!

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