
All Souls Procession, Tucson, Arizona — Photo-Artistry by kenne
After being canceled last year because of the pandemic, the Tucson All Souls Procession took place the past weekend.
All Souls Procession, Tucson, Arizona — Photo-Artistry by kenne
After being canceled last year because of the pandemic, the Tucson All Souls Procession took place the past weekend.
All Souls Procession — Image by kenne
— kenne
All Souls Procession — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— kenne
A Face In the Crowd (Tucson’s All Souls Procession) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Souls
M. L. Kiser
Joy and Kenne at the 2015 All Souls Procession — Images by kenne
Over the past year and a half Joy’s mother (Virginia) and my brother (Tom) passed away. To honor them, last night we participated in Tucson’s version of the Day of the Dead where tens of thousands of people in elaborate costumes walk in one of the nation’s largest processions honoring the deceased. The All Souls Procession is a uniquely Tucson community event that was launched 26 years ago as a way for people to publicly grieve their lost ones in an artistic way.
kenne
(Click on any of the gallery images to see larger view in a slideshow format.)
— from All Souls’ Night by William Butler Yeats
All Souls Procession — Computer Painting by kenne
At dark yesterday, Tucson celebrated its 25th All Souls Procession, with over 100,000 people participating or watching along the procession route. Dressed in customs, painted faces, and carrying pictures, it’s a night to mourn, remember and celebrate lost loved ones walking the miles-long procession. This annual event has become one of the most important, inclusive, and authentic public ceremonies in North America.
All Souls Procession
kenne
(Click here for All Souls Procession images.)
All Souls Procession — Image by kenne
Once a year a unique Tucson event, The All Souls Procession, takes place in which the public is given an opportunity to mourn, reflect, and celebrate the universal experience of Death, through their ancestors, loved ones, and the living. This year’s procession is this weekend in downtown Tucson. Last year was our first time to experience and this year’s event is expected to attract tens of thousands to participate and watch the procession that will follow a path of approximately two miles to Mercado San Agustin.
kenne
Images by kenne
All Souls Procession
Thousands merge in the Old Pueblo
Some to stand on the curb,
Others to walk in the procession.
They gathered at Toole and Congress —
Painted faces, masks, costumes, floats
And banners honoring the dead.
Positioning near the start,
Street and flashing lights
Replacing the daylight.
Darkness setting the stage
For the night walkers to rise
Moving to a steady drum beat.
Whimsical maidens carry urns of the dead
Collecting names of love ones to be
Ceremonially burned at procession’s end.
A Whitman sound in the dark,
Beat! beat! drums!
Mind not the walkers.
They move slowly in the procession,
Holding old stained photographs,
Beat! beat! drums!
. . . and play the fife lowly.
kenne
(Click on any of the thumbnails for a larger view of the gallery.)