• In the Spirit of Dia de Los Muertos
• Olvera Street was even better than I had expected.

The traffic was terrible, as we had expected. When we finally made our way to the Old Post Office, it was all cordoned off, and there was no way we could park and wait for each other. So Arnold and I parked in a lot very near to the festivities and set off for Olvera Street.

There was music and dancing and excitement in the plaza. As we entered Olvera Street, from the opposite end, there were skeletons and skulls about, but mostly they were in addition to the normal tourist attractions and sweets. Because I had seen the Ofrenda at CSUDH the night before, I could quickly pick out the special treats that had been added. We even discovered a T-shirt with Jose Guadalupe Posada's dancing skeletons.

At the end of the Street we came to the Plaza, music and dancing. And right at the edge was an Ofrenda. Those who tended it were adding bits and pieces, and it was clear that the Ofrenda honored those whom they were welcoming back. I knowledgeably explained everything to Arnold, having experienced it the night before. Hard to believe we had lived so long in Los Angeles without having done this before.

Through all our wandering I had seen no one from our group. Maybe they had given up in that traffic. But there was an information booth in the plaza, and as Arnold surveyed all the celebration attractions, I coveted their corn husk flowers. Finally I summoned the courage to ask if I could find some of the flowers on Olvera Street. And, yes, they said I could. They were on the other side of the street, right next to the Lost and Found.

Off I skipped to find flowers and skulls and Posada scenes. And find the flowers I did! No marigolds! I was late for them. But lilies, and poinsettias, and others I could not name. And then, as I chose, I heard my name . . . Paula had found us. We paid for the corn husk flowers and set off down the street, where we did find marigolds and little calaca figurines. I selected one like Catrina of Posada's, and the lady, who was thrilled with Paula's ability to chatter back in Spanish, found me another with Catrina's beautiful big hat. I found postcards and flowers, and magnets. Our Day of the Dead Project is going to be wonderful.

And, again, I heard my name. Raquel had found us! We shared all our goodies with Raquel, who promptly wanted to know where the food was. We looked at one spot that was pretty, but tres cher, and wandered on down to a spot that Paula knew was good. It was! We had a great meal, and dutifully tipped the musicians who came just as we were about to leave.

There were no guayavas; but I had one from the Ofrenda at CSUDH. It was light and loving and ever so different from Halloween. Even the costumed party who came by with elaborate disguises was celebrating, not scaring. We had sugar skulls and Posada copies and a wonderful sense of loving and caring we hope to bring back to all of you who couldn't make it.

love and peace, jeanne

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On Saturday, November 4, 2000, Raquel Waight-Smith wrote:

Olvera Street was even better than I had expected. I am prideful of the legacy that we have captured as Los Angelenas. It's homey and the food was delicious. The whole time that we were there, all I could think of was the sense of pride in the air. That pride showed through on every made up face that honored Dia de Los Muertos. The music honored Dia de Los Muertos, every vendor honored Dia de Los Muertos.

Qoutidian is a fitting word for Dia de Los Muertos, particularly the art aspect of the celebration. It reflects so well daily events and people. Fortunately, a large segment of our society respects and holds Dia de Los Muertos in reverence. Dia de Los Muertos is "common speech" amongst us in the sociology class (now).

Gary's piece shows the "intrinsic artfulness of the mind".

Dia de Los Muertos, as a celebration, even fits the second part of the qoutidian definition. The celebration of death, which is not generally common in our society, or rather, not explained to be a celebration, rather, just " Halloween". This represents the aspect of the defintion in that maybe we should all consider "celebrating" death. After all, it is a life changing process and still mysterious.

Thank God for Dia de Los Muertos

On Saturday, November 4, 2000, jeanne responded:

Good to hear from you Raquel. Olvera Street did leave us with a good feeling. And I think some of the warmth came from our experience with the Ofrenda at CSUDH on Wednesday evening.

I agree with you that one of the charms of this celebration is the sense of pride, of love, of caring that comes through. The calacas are shown in the midst of everyday fun, of practical and touching things like finding their way home by the flowers and memorabilia put out. That, too, was one of Posada's strengths: depicting the dead in the same intimate and familiar activites of the lifeworld.

But I don't have a clue as to how Gary's drawing popped up in the middle of Olvera Street! I like the phrase: "intrinsic artfulness of the mind". But where does it come from? And what on earth does it mean here? Gary, help! Are we referring to Gary's drawing of the Farmer and the Snake?

And then there's that "second part of the qoutidian definition". Yo, guys, there's too much on the site for me to memorize it! What definition did we give, anyway? Remember that we're all reading different material, so you have to cite fairly accurately so we can find it. Now I know you think all those links just pop up automatically in my writing. Tain't so! I have to go check out the URLs and put them up for you.

Good job, Raquel. I'd give you a B until I figure out what Gary and that quotidian definition are doing in there . . . jeanne

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