¡Vamanos Muertos!

[lilmissnever]

The High Holy Days of dressing up aren't really over until the Dia de los Muertos parade in the Mission on November 2nd. Don't get me wrong. I am not one of those people who cannot tell the difference between Dia de los Muertos and Halloween, but the parade through the Mission is one of those events in which the distinctions can get a little fuzzy

Comments

[ladykalessia]

The belly dancers were likely for John Compton, one of the bright lights of the bay area bellydance scene. (Globally famous, *I think*, though I'm unqualified to comment on that given that I don't bellydance.)

[lilmissnever]

I am equally unqualified to comment on the Bay Area bellydance scene. I appreciate the tribal aesthetic and I've seen a fair bit of bellydance, but the brief glimpse I've gotten into the internal politics is deeply off-putting. It put burlesque and circus to shame.

[ladykalessia]

That's been my experience of every type of ethnic dance, ever.

But John Compton was one of the folks who was involved in dancing at Renaissance Faire at the very start, and could be credited with making it okay for gents to dance. (The fact that I know that much should say something about him.)

[cris]

my family used to do Dia De Los Muertos graveyard picnics when we lived in the Philippines. In some ways, it was sort of like a neighborhood party as various families from my dad's village all had ancestors buried in that graveyard. We didn't go in for facepaint though. Mostly, just having a bit of supper and sharing stories of long lost relatives in the flickering candlelight.

There's a local club night here that does a Day of the Dead themed party every October, and it's mostly notable for the way it makes everyone a little harder to recognize. It also has its fair share of bellydancers, but that seems to be a thing in most North American scenes nowadays.

[lilmissnever]

I went to a post-Halloween party directly after the parade and visiting the altars. Many people were wearing their Halloween costumes and a fair number were wearing the outfits and facepaint they'd worn to Day of the Dead. I heard a number of eye-rolling negative comments about white hipsters appropriating the Day of the Dead. I would have taken that criticism much more seriously if any of the critics had been Latino, or Catholic, or traditionally celebrated the Day of the Dead at all. Indeed, I would have paid more attention if any of them hadn't been some form of the dreaded White Hipster themselves.

[cris]

The term "White Hipster's Burden" should probably be in the Urban Dictionary if it isn't already.

[lilmissnever]

It's hard work, being so sensitive. The White Hipster just doesn't get enough credit.