Dia de Los Muertos: Dancing with the Dead

Anne Sivley | Foghorn Staff

A dreary Halloween weekend came to a vibrant ending in the Mission district October 24th. Thousands of people congregated at 24th and Bryant to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos (or Day of the Dead for us gringos). The crowd was incredibly eclectic, as people of all cultures and races have embraced the traditional Mexican celebration. Young children and old couples mixed in among beer-toting twentysomethings. Many were dressed in bright, traditional garb with faces painted like Misfit-esque skeletons. Orange marigolds and flickering candles illuminated the motley crowd.

Costumes ranged from the basic black and white face paint to much more intricate attire. Both women and men could be found wearing shimmering headdresses and flowing gowns. A person in a full prosthetic skeleton costume acted out little scenes with the passing crowd. Some toted incense and instruments, while others silently held photographs of those they came to celebrate.

A brief series of speakers took to the small stage around 7:00 pm. The speakers described how the festival has grown from just a few hundred people in the first year to the roughly 15,000 participants in this year’s 26th annual celebration. The crowd was led in a chant facing each cardinal direction, invoking the spirits that we honored. After brief encouragement to vote for Obama and against Prop. 8, the procession took off.

An ensemble of drummers dressed all in white set out the rhythm for the procession. Residents leaned out windows and watched from porches as we made or way down 25th. The crowd took a brief dance break in the middle of South Van Ness, with whistles blaring and maracas shaking. As we rounded the corner of 25th and Mission, past the Mission Cultural center, the procession grew into a sort of latino Lovefest. Walking and dancing, with the borrachos a little more enthusiastic than the rest of us, we truly celebrated the dead.

Our path looped around 24th and ended at Garfield Park. Here, celebrants set up altars for their loved ones. They strung hundreds of prayers to the between trees, with candles and flowers below. The boisterous procession ended relatively solemnly as participants took time to visit the various altars.

The popularity of this lively celebration clearly indicates that traditional Mexican culture is alive and well in San Francisco.

San Francisco’s got MILK

This past Tuesday I made my way down to the Castro for the premier of “Milk”, hoping to spy a celebrity or two and ended up seeing quite a few more.

A relatively low key event (low key for a movie premier that is) the crowd on the street was only a couple hundred strong which just made it easier to catch a glimpse of the likes of Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, James Franco, Diane Lane and Mayor Gavin Newsom just to name a few. I got to talking to the guy standing next to me who happened to be an extra in the movie and he told me that tickets to go inside and watch the premier with the stars evened out somewhere around five grand and included an after party for those who could afford it. If you hadn’t heard about the screening, it’s no surprise. Word is publicity for the film is being kept to a minimum for now but is scheduled to be set into full swing after the presidential election has been decided. So be on the lookout in the next couple of weeks for trailers and ads to start popping up.

For those of you who might not know, “Milk” is a biogaphical film about Harvey Milk, A former New Yorker who moves to San Francisco and becomes the first openly gay elected official in the United States and a gay rights advocate who is later assassinated along with the then Mayor, George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White. Many of Harvey Milk’s real life friends and associates were part of the film’s production both on and off camera.

The spectators that were present seemed to fall pretty neatly into two categories: those on the sidewalk across from the theater holding “No on Prop 8” signs and those of us on the sidewalk closest to the red carpet snapping pictures and leaning over the barricades for a better look. I have to really give it up to the political advocates across the street, they were very enthusiastic and were chanting since before I arrived and were still going at it after I left. I’m sure this premier was looking like the perfect opportunity for those anti-Prop 8ers to get out there and voice their opinion in the grand tradition of the city; what with the theme of the movie, the historic location and the vote so near. San Franciscans have never had trouble exercising their right to assemble; we’re a very participatory society, which brings us to the extras in this film.

To be an extra on the set of Milk you pretty much had to sign up online and show up at the right place in the right dress for the period. There was a call for people of all races and genders to come and help recreate the marches that originated in the Castro during the 1970’s. There were no auditions and the website stated “If you sign up you will be used”. It was a nice extra little touch to give people who live in San Francisco now the opportunity to be apart of the retelling and connect with a pivotal part in their hometown’s history.

“Milk” officially hits theaters November 26th. I suggest you go look up the trailer if you have not seen it already, this one looks like it’s going to be a good one.