Los Muertos in the Mission

Last year, AG and I saw part of the procession and we vowed to be a part of it the next year. It was so beautiful, really. The energy was so beautiful - it's difficult to explain. To have something we've always been taught as macabre (death, skeletons etc.) and have such feelings of elation, joy and beauty connected to it felt inconsistent with what I've been brought up with.

It a huge turnout. We started with the procession at 25th and Bryant and went down 25th to the Mission. At that point, we decided to head back to the altars, which were gorgeously decorated and lit up.


Along the way, I saw these wonderful kids dressed up. They were the cutest things. Especially after the debacle in the Castro for Halloween. AG and I had taken a walk through the Mission to check out all the little kiddies in their outfits. We stumbled upon a street party for children on Fair Oaks. The entire street had participated and the kids were all running around in little round bunny and pumpkin outfits. We decided to head towards the Castro to check out Halloween costumes since we were so close already.

It had been over 6 years since I went to the Castro for Halloween. It's deteriorated since then. We felt old. Thankfully, we left around 9ish closer to 10. The next day, we heard that there had been a shooting and 8 people were shot, 1 injured from being trampled in the melee. Terrible.

So the Los Muertos celebration last night helped to take that sourness out. It was beautiful, cultural and respectful. I love that children are being taught that death is not supposed to be scary. It's celebrated, and that loved ones will be remembered and cherished after they pass away. I also can't believe it's so close to our house. It's awesome to live in such a vibrant community.