Follow on Instagram
Altars are created to remember family and friends with prayers and traditional dishes are served as part of the celebrations. 
The cemetery looks nothing like the ones I am used to with a stark desert landscape of rocks and scraggly low brush. No one in Tubac knows who started the old cemetery in a patch of desert, when the first body was buried beneath the dry dirt or why its sign labels it as a "cemetery."
It's scarcely mentioned in the Tubac Historical Society's archives and the town's chamber of commerce only lists it as privately owned. Even the owners — Tubac's Ybarra family — don't know much about its origins.
But the graveyard is a fixture in the town, which began under Spanish rule in the 1700s and is now regarded as part of the Tubac artists' community. The two-acre plot of brightly decorated graves fenced by metal and barbed wire make the cemetery a distinguishable landmark seeped in tradition.
Colorful flowers adorned each of the gravesites. What fascinated me was how each grave seemed to have a story to tell about the person who died. 
Obviously this person must have enjoyed his Bud Light while strumming his guitar.
Cemeteries can give us a great insight into the culture and ways of the residents as well as learning historical facts. 
Tubac doesn't have a cemetery. However, it does have a “cementery.”
The misspelling, affixed in metal letters to the high arch of the graveyard's main gate, is both a local mystery and joke. Many believe it's a bit of Spanglish – the errant “n” might be from “cementerio” – but no one can say for sure.We found the small cemetery in Tubac, AZ (town population 1,230) to be a very busy place today. 
Several groups were busy decorating gravesites of their loved ones. I've only driven by this cemetery but today decided to stop for a closer look.
The cemetery looks nothing like the ones I am used to with a stark desert landscape of rocks and scraggly low brush. No one in Tubac knows who started the old cemetery in a patch of desert, when the first body was buried beneath the dry dirt or why its sign labels it as a "cemetery."
It's scarcely mentioned in the Tubac Historical Society's archives and the town's chamber of commerce only lists it as privately owned. Even the owners — Tubac's Ybarra family — don't know much about its origins.
But the graveyard is a fixture in the town, which began under Spanish rule in the 1700s and is now regarded as part of the Tubac artists' community. The two-acre plot of brightly decorated graves fenced by metal and barbed wire make the cemetery a distinguishable landmark seeped in tradition.
This gravesite had a miniature railroad complete with a solar power light at the end.
All Hallows Eve-Blue Mooon
I had to break my sacred cardinal rule-never leave my property to walk the neighborhood in the dark by myself. But to get an unobstructed view for this photo I had to walk two blocks in the dark. Javelinas are very active at night and known to roam about the neighborhoods in the area. 
Not sure what I would do if encountered them. Fortunately I made it safely home:) 
Like you, I find cemeteries so interesting from historical, artistic and personal perspectives. This is certainly unlike anything I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it safely home.