Día de los Muertos and aliens and other things New Mexican

Hello world! Just a heads up, we are going into blogging mania this morning. I’m “supposed” to be packing. I was also planning to cook. Carina is having a Day of the Dead party, and we’re supposed to bring a favorite dish of a loved one who has passed (that’s what Day of the Dead is about; honoring those who have died).

By the way, in Mexico it’s called Día de Muertos, but in the US it’s usually called Día de los Muertos, which is sort of interesting. Because basically from what I can understand, the phrase Día de los Muertos came from English speakers translating Día de Muertos into English (Day of the Dead), and then back into Spanish incorrectly. And that so epitomizes New Mexico. Back-and-forth iterations of culture, with the result not being Spanish or English or Native American, or even just a blend of those, but an actual truly unique evolution growing out of the three.

Plus, the past 75 years have added a fourth culture – the nuclear labs and the crazy scientists (like my hubby). And of course the aliens. I blame the labs for the aliens.

(Note how that alien sort of looks like a scientist?!?) LOL. I haven’t talked much about the New Mexican aliens, but presumably that’s all linked to the labs and the lab activities.  The labs have definitely put mysterious flying objects into the sky at times – and then attempted to keep it all a big secret. So of course you’re going to get colorful stories.

Here’s a cute little one in Old Town Albuquerque:

Plus the insane sky.  For example, there’s no colored lenses or photoshopping on this picture; I just snapped it with an iphone. It really did look exactly like this. Purple! And weird-shit clouds. Truly the heralding of the aliens.

Anyway, back to today’s agenda: I could spend all morning cooking some traditional food dish for Día de los Muertos (I had in mind stuffed green peppers, because I know my grandmother liked them). But my grandmother also really liked modern conveniences after a brutal childhood on a failing farm, and she wasn’t actually all that into cooking. I think she would totally approve of me purchasing a pie instead of cooking all morning.

So let the blogging begin!