Colocas

Colocas, originally uploaded by Eriqua.

This past Sunday was the Oakland Museum of California annual Dia de los Muertos celebration.

I almost missed it because i was in traffic coming back from San Francisco.

I caught the tale end, participated in the ceremony honoring the ones who have passed in the different directions - east, south, west, north. Each symbolizes the elders, the women, the youth, and the men. We shed marigold petals in each direction as we remember those who have left us.

I needed this ceremony. It has become an annual celebration for me to reflect those who have left me personally and as a way to honor loved ones of people I know.

The color mixed with the feelings of melancholy that erupt in me on a golden autumn afternoon make for a ceremony that closes the gap...we mourn, we celebrate, and we commune with others.