Gather at 5:00pm on Nov. 4th
registration area on Toole Ave just West of Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

Procession Begins 6pm
GRAND FINALE
Mercado San Agustín on West Congress (west of I-10), 100 S. Avenida del Convento

We will be initiating our new finale site on West Congress and with the help of Gadsden Company we will be investing in a new Festival Grounds that will be developed over the next few years-look for more details soon!
Flam Chen and a multitude of other performers TBA, The Community Spirit Group, and
with this years musical guests: SORIAH, Richard Noel from Sticks and Fingers and David Galleher, Danza Azteca Calpulli Tonantzin, Tucson Arts Brigade, Odaiko Sonora, Mourning Frye, de Dar a Luz, and more.

Map of new route is below (The change must be due to construction on 4th Avenue as the previous route used to start at Epic Cafe at University Blvd. and go through the 4th Avenue Underpass to downtown). The new route now starts near Hotel Congress:

This wildly popular procession is in its 23rd year and there must be 20,000 or more people now walking the route. For more information on other events leading up El Dia de Los Muertos and this All Souls Procession, go to their website: http://www.allsoulsprocession.org/

Hope you enjoyed Halloween last night, and it’s time to get ready for All Souls on Sunday. Raices Taller art gallery will be hosting a Dia de los Muertos community event on Friday November 2nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. It is their “annual homage to Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead with a cultural celebration in the tradition of the Hispanic Southwest. Community groups, guest artists and gallery members pay personal tribute to Dia de los Muertos with altars, ofrendas (offerings), paintings and sculpture. All events are free and open to the public, donations appreciated!”They are located at 218 E. 6th Street, 520-881-5335 or raicestaller222@aol.com.

22nd Annual All Souls Procession on Sunday November 6:
5 p.m. procession gathers at 4th Avenue & University Blvd.
6 p.m. procession begins at Epic Cafe, proceeds south on 4th Avenue, through the underpass to Congress St., then west to Mercado San Agustin (100 S. Avenida del Convento) for the grand finale.

Flam Chen and a multitude of other performers will be part of the grand finale,
along with the Community Spirit Group, this years musical guest Roskruge Mariachi, and Odaiko Sonora, Batucaxe, and Tucson Puppet Works. There will be sculptural installations by Mykl Wells, Joe O’Connell, Richard Wizardry, Carlos Noggle, SORIAH, Tucson Arts Brigade, AZ burner CHURCH, Mourning Fyre.

website: allsoulsprocession.org.

The All Souls Procession is perhaps one of the most important, inclusive and authentic public ceremonies in North America today. The Procession had its beginnings in 1990 with a ritualistic performance piece created by local artist Susan Johnson, who was grieving the passing of her father. Inspired by Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos holiday, Johnson felt she should honor her father in celebration and creativity. The performance was very well received and many artists were inspired to continue growing the Procession into its modern incarnation.

Today we find ourselves organizing over 20,000 participants on the streets of downtown Tucson for a two-mile long human-powered procession that ends in the finalizing action of burning a large urn filled with the hopes, offerings and wishes of the public for those who have passed. Inside the event are myriads of installation art, altars, performers, and creatives of all kinds collaborating for almost half the year to prepare their offerings to this amazing event. The All Souls Procession, and now the entire All Souls Weekend, is a celebration and mourning of the lives of our loved ones who have passed.

Many Mouths One Stomach (manymouths.org), a non-profit arts collective based in Tucson, AZ, is the organizing body for the Procession, and serves as a vehicle for working artists to collaborate, create, and inspire the public through Festal Culture.

My husband and I have walked in the past with other calaveras (Spanish for skulls) and skeletons, and it’s always amazing how many people turn out for this wildly popular event.
The crowd size in the past has been estimated at 20,000.

Last year’s blog on the “Dance of Death” at All Souls Procession (click here).