For more than 100,000 people of the Old Pueblo, the All Souls Procession is an important way to remember and grieve those loved ones — and not just human loved ones — we have lost.
This year, the procession is slated for Sunday, Nov. 9, but that’s just the culmination of a weekend of activities that lead up to it.
There are events for both children and adults, which actually began last weekend with a community altar dedication. Find that altar at MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento.
Anyone at any time may join the All Souls Procession at any point in the 1½-mile walk. Food trucks with freshly prepared food to purchase line the walkway. Streets and parking garages are closed to vehicle traffic so everyone is safe.
Then, once the walk is completed, there’s a celebration and finale ceremony featuring live music and circus performers.
The annual event is in its 36th year; it’s a city institution. Yet this could be its last year. It all has to do with one issue.
“The thing that is most important or pressing to us right now is that there (be) a recognition in the community of how All Souls is funded,” co-organizer Nadia Hagen said. “There is a lot of misconception around the funding for All Souls. A lot of people think that there is an entity — the state, the city, maybe some other sponsor, that there’s some other magical pool of money that is there for all souls to get produced and that is stable.”
At the offrenda at the MSX Annex, people leave photos and mementos of their loved ones. An ofrenda is a traditional altar created for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) To honor and welcome the spirits of lost loved ones. (Jeff Smith/Contributor)
The need is serious, especially considering that last year the heavens opened and rain poured down, cutting the finale short and keeping processioners home. Hagen and her partner Paul Weir found themselves at the end of it all with a $20,000 deficit, which they personally had to pay.
“There is no trust fund,” she said. “There is no savings account. There is no cushion so every year we go in a hole so every year we either dig ourselves out of that hole all year round and we live by the grace of the people who we owe money to… The truth is that All Souls is a labor of love. It is funded every year on the backs of a small, grassroots, nonprofit organization called Many Mouths One Stomach and we work tirelessly all year long to raise the funds.”
The budget for the event is between $100,000 and $200,000 a year. Hagen acknowledges that this is a very reasonable price for an event this size but it can only cost this little when such participants as Soundwave Az, a Tucson audio company, StageDog Productions and Fifth Avenue Productions, to name a few, charge pared-down prices for their equipment and know-how. In fact, Hagen is still in debt to them.
“It’s only by their generosity and good grace that we are allowed to proceed this year,” she said.
The city of Tucson gives funds but do charge for services, beginning with $10,000 for extra police and $18,000 for barricades. Then there’s $5,000 for sanitation and porta-potties, “services that in other cities, the city takes care of… Even Phoenix, for whatever reason, pays. They take care of the police and they take care of the street closures.”
Funds come from grants and local organizations, mainly organizations and companies whose values align with Many Mouths.
“A lot of organizations have millions of dollars and what they don’t have is any kind of community buy-in,” Hagen said. “We do not take large corporate sponsorships. We do not allow title sponsorships on the event. It is very, very important to us that no one usurp the agenda and the sacred nature of the event for their own commercial gain. It’s important to me and I have turned down I don’t know how many pitches from different corporations.”
Hagen sticks to that philosophy. Even the Disney Corporation has approached her but they were interested only in promoting their Latino movies such as “Encanto” and “Coco.”
“I’m not marketing for them,” she said.
Even Pima County chipped in with $7,500 from the Health and Community Services Department and a retroactive grant of $10,000 from Pima County Attractions and Tourism.
People who walk the procession or attend the finale ceremony are asked to donate $5 and a couple of the events are $30 a ticket, but even with these sources there is always a deficit.
Most of the donations from the public come in between $5 and $50 but Hagen will happily and gratefully accept any donation, no matter how small or large. There is also event merchandise and concert tickets for sale.
Still, the events are about remembering and honoring those we love and have lost. Some in the procession carry pictures or mementos of their loved ones. Some have placards. It just depends on what is most meaningful to the person who is walking.
The entire procession can be substantial and worthwhile.
“If you want an experience that is deeply meaningful, sacred, culturally connected and connected to community, come out and give yourself the opportunity to experience it and not be a viewer,” Hagen said.
However, if this experience is to continue, the community has to support it.
“The message is, if the community loves All Souls and they want it to continue and they want this as part of their cultural lives and their landscape then the public needs to get behind it and go to the donate page and donate and support,” Hagen said.
All Souls Procession Weekend
allsoulsprocession.org/events
WHAT: Dance of the Dead – Flow for the Soul
WHEN: 6 to 11:55 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7
WHERE: MSA Annex, 267 Avenida del Convento
COST: $30
WHAT: Procession of the Little Angels
WHEN: 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8
WHERE: Literacy Connects Campus, 200 E. Yavapai Road
COST: Free
WHAT: Dance of the Dead – Snow Raven in concert
WHEN: 5 to 11:55 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8
WHERE: MSA Annex, 267 Avenida del Convento
COST: $30
WHAT: All Souls Procession and Finale Ceremony
WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9
WHERE: MSA Annex, 267 Avenida del Convento
COST: Free
INFO: Gather for the procession at 4 p.m. on Grande Avenue. The procession kicks off at 6 p.m.
To donate, look for QR codes at the Mercado and MSX Annex that take users to a donation page or visit the All Souls Procession Weekend page at allsoulsprocession.org. There will also be a busking stage at the finale where people may donate. A street team of performers dressed in red and white called the Ghostbusters who will be collecting during the procession.