Streaming alongside the streets of Tucson, hundreds walked down Bonita Avenue parallel to the Santa Cruz River on Sunday evening to recollect misplaced family members as a part of the 2022 All Souls Procession.

Backed by Kodo drummers, a determine wearing shimmering white robes and carrying a golden horse masks pulled the urn — a large metallic vessel full of messages for the lifeless written by these in attendance as a part of the procession.

A saxophonist and guitar gamers adopted the urn, main hundreds by way of the streets, many wearing funeral finery: their faces painted to seem like grinning skulls, make-up that follows the design of La Calavera Catrina, or “dapper cranium,” an imagery of dying initially primarily based on a zinc etching by a Mexican print-maker and illustrator made in 1913.

A Tucson custom for greater than 30 years, the procession started when artist Susan Ok. Johnson began the ceremonial stroll to recollect her late father. The occasion is a mix of customs, together with many features of the Mexican vacation Dia De Muertos, or the Day of the Useless.

Since then the procession has grown by leaps and bounds. Many Mouths One Abdomen, the artwork collective that now organizes the occasion, estimated that as many as 150,000 individuals attended 2018’s gathering, taking part within the stroll or watching it cross by way of the streets.

Every year, individuals carry indicators, pictures, or different gadgets of particular significance marking the lives of those that have died. Alongside the route, some individuals positioned altars representing misplaced family members.

The procession is totally funded by donations, and annually, the group works to boost cash to placed on the occasion, which incorporates dozens of volunteers, dancers, ushers, and music. The group additionally covers the price of having Tucson cops readily available to shut streets and direct site visitors.

That is the fourth time that the procession has made its approach alongside the river stroll, after decamping from its earlier route starting at sixth Avenue and winding by way of Downtown.

Lastly, the procession stopped on the Mercado San Agustin the place a non-religious ceremony marked the tip with dancing and music backed by a didgeridoo. A determine standing on a wall of cargo containers set the urn aflame with a flare.

Because the moon shone, sparks from the urn filtered by way of spotlights, and hundreds watched as messages for the lifeless went up in flames.