catching the dead on their way out

I missed it all. Everything. But last night in a last ditch effort to see something, anything, I wandered to the jardin after the Santa Fe Photography Workshop presentation. By that time, the night had become chilly to the bone. I looked through the darkness, lit by the light of the full moon, the food vendors and the usual night lights around the square, for a glimpse of an altar or some costumes still floating around...but no, nothing. What I glimpsed instead was the clean-up crew packing up crates. The marigolds,  so glorious a few hours prior, now lay strewn on the street...common litter, waiting to be hauled away. So I thought, "Ok. Work with what you've got. Let's immortalize the last marigolds of 2009." The marigold is THE flower for El Dia de los Muertos. For its meaning and all altar symbols, consult our local Atencion newspaper here