Natasha Warner on Nostr: I walked in Tucson's All Souls Procession tonight, where people carry signs to ...

I walked in Tucson's All Souls Procession tonight, where people carry signs to remember loved ones they've lost and wear colorful lights in the darkness. And walk a couple miles across town together by the hundreds at night. It's an amazing event, but it's also a mixture of some uncomfortable things. It's not Dia de los Muertos, but it's clearly close, and it's a little too White for comfort, but it's also a very, very real ritual, and one hears Spanish and sees Spanish names commemorated, as well as a lot of English. Both the Hare Krishnas and a conservative Christian group walk in the procession and make their music loud enough to try to take over, while other conservative Christian groups stand on the side and harangue people for participating in something they see as celebration of evil. I wish none of these groups tried to use someone else's ritual that way. It feels very real in a way that few community rituals in the U.S. do despite those groups. Tonight I walked remembering my nephew who we lost very young a couple years ago, and thinking of several other people. It's both contemplative and musical and chaotic. A footnote: I love Tucson's free public transit for getting over there, just hop on the bus, no problem. Free since 2020. #Tucson #Arizona #AllSouls