Dia de los Muertos

Since Tucson is only about 70 miles from Mexico and has a large Mexican population, Day of the Dead is a huge event in Tucson. The Sunday following the actual day (November 2nd, same as the Catholic Feast of All Souls) there is a procession during which people dress up and walk through the streets.

Tucson has an interesting mixture of people, making Dia de los Muertos an interesting mixture of remembrance of those who have died (the traditional meaning of the holiday) and political statements. There are a number of very traditional, conservative Mexican families and military families (there's an air force base in town), and then a bunch of liberal hippies. There was definitely evidence of all of it.