La Dia de los Muertos

  

Our final day in San Francisco was La Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead (2nd November). In the UK, it is 'All Souls Day' and passes by pretty much unnoticed, but in Mexico and amongst some Mexican Americans in the US it is the occasion for a big celebration.

In San Francisco, in the Mexican Mission district of the city, the weeks leading up to the date see shops and houses decorated with altars to the dead, intricately-cut tissue paper bunting depicting skulls, skeletons, flowers etc., and decorated sugar skulls and 'pain de muertos' or 'bread of the dead' are for sale in bakeries. Marigolds are another traditional decoration at this time of year, and along with all the Hallowe'en pumpkins, witches, ghosts, etc, the Dead are a definite presence within the city.

The Day of the Dead skeletons are usually depicted dressed in clothes and/or carrying the tools of their trade. Traditional ones would be dressed as farm workers for example, or fancily-decked out Victorian ladies, but I also saw more modern ones such as the skeleton dressed as a career woman with power-dressing suit and briefcase, or a skateboarding skeleton complete with backwards-facing baseball cap. The point is that the Dead are like us - they are us, and we shouldn't be afraid of them, or of death, nor should we take life too seriously. I must say I like the idea of continuing a relationship with our Beloved Dead after they have left us, and in many ways the Day of the Dead celebrations are like a big party to which the ancestors and the living are both invited to hang out with each other.

There is a big parade through the streets of the Mission District on the evening of la Dia de los Muertos, so that evening, IB, Deborah and I and several of her friends painted our faces to look like skulls, and carrying a lit votive candle each, made our way to the gathering point for the parade.

There were already many people assembled, and some of the costumes were amazing, putting my own skull-bedecked T-shirt and jeans ensemble to shame. As well as all the people dressed as the dead like us, there were drummers, Aztec dancers, stiltwalkers and an amazing covered wagon pulled by a team of cyclists, with a kind of 'ringmaster' figure perched on top calling through a megaphone for people to 'bring out your dead!'.

We followed the parade from its start on Bryant Street, turned onto 24th Street (which was thronging with onlookers) and followed it for several blocks before leaving the crowds and cutting down Balmy Alley to the quieter part of the celebrations, where beautiful altars to the Dead had been set out in Garfield Park.

The park was a mixture of people, some in 'Dead' costumes, others conventionally dressed, wandering thoughtfully amongst the altars. Yet at the same time, in a nearby part of the park a brightly-floodlit kid's baseball game was taking place complete with picnicking families. It was, for me, the perfect juxtaposition of the living and the dead; a reminder that life and death are inextricably linked. The dead are always with us. And life goes on.

P.S. Beautiful photos of some of the costumes and altars may be found here.

Did I Really...

...see a dragon on the horizon this afternoon?

Do you see it too?

San Francisco Photos Part 2

It's hard to believe it's less than a week since we left...

The lovely City by the Bay 

Coit Tower 

Amoeba Records, Berkeley

Go Giants!

There are amazing murals everywhere in the Mission District

More murals...

Beautiful altars at the Spiral Dance. This one is for water.

Another lovely altar at the Spiral Dance.

Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco from Coit Tower by night.

San Francisco Photos Part 1

Well, we are back in Wales, the computer is fixed - finally!! - and I have a few photos to share with you...

 The Rubinoos 40th Anniversary Concert 23/10/10

Mel's Diner

Alcatraz

Sea lions at Pier 39

The Ferry Building, Embarcadero

Day of the Dead Altar in our favourite Mexican Restaurant (El Metate on Bryant Street)

Giant Redwoods in Muir Woods

They're really tall!

Golden Gate Bridge

Just too photogenic!

Dancing, The Dead, and Baseball

Continuing our adventures in San Francisco...

We ventured further afield on Thursday, crossing to the East Bay on the BART system to visit Berkeley. Berkeley, which describes itself as a small place with a big reputation, is probably best known as a centre of liberal politics and political upheaval, especially back in the 60's and 70's. At its heart literally and metaphorically, is the university campus.

We found it an interesting place to walk around and explore (IB was delighted to visit another branch of Amoeba Records, whilst I could have spent weeks in the wonderful bookshops!). Berkeley is a strange mix of the achingly trendy and the tragically dispossessed (many homeless people).

We had a quiet couple of days then, mostly in the neighbourhood where we're staying as we wanted to conserve our energy for the Spiral Dance on Saturday night.

It was held in the Kezar Pavillion in Haight-Ashbury. We caught the bus - I was nervous about missing our stop, but we did fine! The venue had been beautifully decorated with amazing altars - once again I took lots of photos - and was filled with hundreds of people, many in fabulous costumes. I was really looking forward to experiencing a ritual on such a grand scale.

And it was a grand scale, with many, many people sharing the priestessing, a choir, dancers, stilt walkers (and white-clothed 'Graces' scattered throughout who did a wonderful job as greeters cum information points cum guides cum ushers). It was spectacular, both visually striking and theatrical. On the downside, I found this cut down on the possibility for fully participating as it creates something of a performers/spectators dynamic. For example the choir were both talented and polished in their performance, but most of the chants and songs they used were so elaborate (with so many verses) that people tended to listen rather than join in. My personal preference would be for simple chants that the choir could lead, but which the community as a whole could really join in with. But that's just me!

The invocations of elements, deities, the dead and descendants were beautiful and moving. The main part of the ritual was a Trance to the Isle of the Dead, where we were reunited with our Beloved Dead, and this was done wonderfully. We then began the Spiral Dance, an amazing feat of organization when dealing with so many people (we guesstimated about 600-800). The Graces really came into their own here, supervising the joining of people to the snaking line until at last everyone was dancing the spiral, laughing, singing, smiling, crying. I think there were actually two separate spirals weaving around each other, and I was just blown away by the sheer number of faces passing in front of me. What an experience! The dance culminated in a huge cone of power, after which we devoked and priestesses came around with baskets of baked goodies to share ('May you never hunger!'). I have to say the cookie I received was very welcome by then!

We bravely caught the bus home again instead of hailing a taxi, and this in itself was an experience - the bus was crammed with Hallowe'en revellers in high spirits wearing every costume imaginable including vampires, zombies, mermaids, cats, nurses, skunks, devils, medusas etc etc.

The next day was Samhain (Hallowe'en), which we celebrated in a much quieter yet no less enjoyable way, with a quiet 'Dinner for the Dead'. This was an absolutely delicious meal cooked for us and the neighbours by Deborah, at which we set a place for our ancestors and Beloved Dead and ate by candlelight.

Later, we watched the latest game in the finals of the baseball World Series (makes me giggle every time I hear 'World Series', given that only the Americans play it...). Despite having no understanding of baseball whatsoever, I found myself getting more and more interested in the outcome. This is mainly because the final games were between the teams of our lovely host city (The San Francisco Giants - hooray, hooray!!) and their opponents (The Texas Rangers, with George W. Bush sitting prominently supporting them - boo! boo!).  The Giants won that evening, leaving them with just one more game to win to secure the title...

The next day (yesterday) was spent mostly in the neighbourhood shopping for souvenirs, although Deborah also took us out for a drive to see some of the city's best-kept secrets (including what is allegedly the REAL twistiest street in town - Vermont, as opposed to the more famous Lombard). I have to say, despite living in a hilly part of the world like Wales, some of the hills in San Francisco are truly daunting!

Later, with bated breath and fervently whispered prayers, we watched the baseball match - and San Francisco won! This is the first time in over 50 years the Giants have won the World Series, and the city just exploded in celebration! At first we listened to the sounds of jubilation erupting all around us, but then we just had to jump in the car and drive round the city (honking the horn and shouting 'Go Giants!, naturally). And so did everyone else. The whole city was out on the streets, honking horns, playing drums, tootling vuvuzelas, letting off fireworks, singing, dancing, shouting, waving flags and banners, and embracing total strangers. Quite a sight to behold. We think it's very considerate of San Francisco to win the baseball before we have to go home!

Today is La Dia de Los Muertes, the Day of the Dead. Tonight we will join those celebrations for our final night in the city. And tomorrow we will travel home... it will be nice to be home, but what an amazing trip it's been. We will be sorry when it's over.

San Francisco

San Francisco is such a beautiful city. It's also a city that doesn't seem much like a city somehow. Since we've been here, IB and I have been amazed by the laid-back, friendly and courteous manner of most of the people we've met. Just one example is the way pedestrians have right of way over cars. To start with, the two of us were hesitating at street corners, unable to believe that the oncoming traffic was giving way to us. Now we've just about got the hang of it. I hope we remember to return to UK rules on our return! My friend Deborah keeps reminding us, "But you're in Northern California now!" every time we express amazement at the laid-back way of life.

We have been exploring different areas of the city: the Mission district, the Castro, Noe Valley, Haight-Ashbury, Fisherman's Wharf and the Embarcadero. Each is quite distinct, giving a kind of village-y atmosphere in many cases.

On Saturday, we attended The Rubinoos' 40th Anniversary concert at The Great American Music Hall, an amazing ornate venue that in times past was a brothel! The concert was one of our main reasons for coming to San Francisco - I have been a huge Rubinoos fan for over 30 years and did not want to miss this landmark event! The concert began with a great spoof 'This Is Your Life' featuring amazing video footage covering the past 40 years and some fantastic 'special guests', including former band members and friends of the band. The second half of the evening was the concert itself which covered a great selection of songs old and new, and carried on until midnight (with two encores). A fabulous night which I wouldn't have missed for the world! We also got a mention from the stage for having come the furthest, although people had travelled from all corners of the US to be there - proof of the loyalty of the band's fan base.

One reason for this loyalty may be that they are all very down to earth and approachable. IB and I had got friendly with the band's bass player, Al Chan, on line, and he and his wife had very kindly offered to take us out sightseeing the day after the show. Despite torrential rain, they took us to Haight-Ashbury (birthplace of the hippy movement) for the day, including a trip to the gargantuan record store, Amoeba Records. IB was in heaven and only budgetary constraints prevented him from emptying the shop!

Unfortunately the weather eventually defeated us - we were all four quite literally soaked to the skin - and we finished our day out drip-drying in a classic 50's-style diner over hamburgers and fries.

On Monday we got the hang of the city's BART (tube train) system and did the real tourist-thing on Fisherman's Wharf. My favourite thing there was the colony of wild sea-lions which congregate on floating platforms just by Pier 39. They are noisy and spend a lot of time sparring with each other but they are fascinating. They gather there quite naturally, as they are not fed. Only the floating platforms are placed there for their convenience, and they don't seem to mind being gawped at by tourists one bit.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Al once again took us for a day out - quite above and beyond the call of duty, I think! This time the weather was absolutely perfect, warm and sunny with barely a cloud in the sky. We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods, a beautiful and peaceful area of redwood forest within easy striking distance of the city. The giant trees make one feel quite dwarfed, and the cool, damp, eucalyptus-scented air and dappled shade beneath them seems timeless.

Later we stopped at an overlook by the Golden Gate Bridge - a perfect opportunity for lots of photos - and then got yet another perspective by walking part of the way across the bridge and back. It is so much bigger than it looks in photos! And the Bay area must be one of the most photogenic in the world. I am itching to share my photos with you, but unfortunately won't be able to do so until I get home.

We are having the most wonderful time here! If I get the chance I will write about more of our adventures before we leave, and once I get back I will post lots of photos... you have been warned!

Home Thoughts from A Broad

To say the last few weeks have been hectic would be a serious understatement. And just to add insult to injury, my home broadband connection has died and I am having serious difficulties getting it re-connected. But no matter, I have flown away from all the stress and drama (for a fortnight anyway) and am writing this from my friend's computer in her beautiful home in San Francisco.

IB and I are here in this lovely city visiting my friend Deborah Oak. On Saturday we are going to see the Rubinoos' 40th Anniversary concert at The Great American Music Hall, and next week we will be fulfilling my long-cherished ambition to attend Reclaiming's annual Spiral Dance. On November 2nd we will join in La Dia de los Muertes (or Day of the Dead) festivities before flying home the next day.

Sadly although I have my trusty camera with me I forgot to bring the cable for downloading photos to the computer, but when I get home I will post plenty of them to make up for lost time. In the meantime, I hope to report back regularly on our adventures.