nothin Weather Can’t Keep Down The Dead | New Haven Independent

Weather Can’t Keep
Down The Dead

Allan Appel Photo

The Dead Parade at Bregamos.

Skeletons rattled their PVC bones and the dead had plenty of sugared bread and wine piled high on their altar to enjoy themselves, as the Fair Haven Latino community’s Día de los Muertos carnival and parade came off without a hitch. But it came off indoors, not outdoors, due to Saturday’s surprise snowstorm.

Organized by the workers and immigrants rights grouop Unidad Latina en Accion, the Day of the Dead parade was scheduled to originate in Criscuolo Park Saturday late afternoon. Then the stormy forecast forced a rescheduling of the parade to Bregamos Theater Company in Erector Square for a briefer march.

The altar of the dead, with edible sugar skulls, bread baked in bone shapes and a bottle of “Bohemian Highway” California cabernet sauvignon.

However as the slush accumulated citywide, the skull-and-rib-cage-bearing revelers, including playwright Aaron Jafferis, stayed indoors, some 50 strong, to party and promenade around the theater company’s space all decked out with an altar for the dead and a stage for the living to perform.

On Sunday organizers decided to do it again — outside, for real. They planned to meet at 5 p.m. at Bregamos for the outdoor promenade.

Click here for a previous story on puppet-makers Hector Hernandez and Stefanie Loeb and their PVC skeletons and nine-foot dragon.

Hernandez had added an electric guitar to the bony arms of one of his creations.

Jennifer Mendoza with her soccer fan puppet.

Joining the puppets is this huge fan of the Santa Fe, Colombia, soccer team created by Jennifer Mendoza.

Among the partiers Saturday were Natalia Houghton and her daughter Kaia along with a spiderman. Because the spiderman was having trouble with his hood, he preferred to remain anonymous.

Houghton had on a witch’s hat and colonial shoes with sparkly glitter on her buckles. Kaia was dressed in what appeared to be a quilt with South American indigenous designs.

Their combination costumes caught the spirit of the Day of the Dead, which seemed to embrace dressing up, letting it hang out, and defusing the terror of dying by, well, just staying in touch with dead.

Pan de muerto and edible sugar skulls.

The centerpiece of that was the altar of the dead. It was beautifully arrayed with pan de muerto, sugar candy skulls the size of golf balls that kids had their eyes on, and even some bound and browned corn cobs reminiscent of Thanksgiving.

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