The Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere associated with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. It is celebrated in countries with large indigenous populations Sun, Nov 1-Mon, Nov 2. 

Altars are created to remember family and friends with prayers and traditional dishes are served as part of the celebrations. 

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. 

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. 

This gravesite had a miniature railroad complete with a solar power light at the end. 

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. 

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:)