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Following a grief-filled 2020, Tucson's All Souls Procession returns

Last year’s All Souls Procession was an intimate affair — invitation only and limited to 50 people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the first time in the event’s 31-year history that a crowd that most years tops 150,000 people did not march the nearly 2-mile procession route from Barrio Hollywood to the Mercado District, which was a bit of a relief for All Souls Artistic Director Nadia Hagen.

“For us to have a break in that grinding wheel, it gave us a chance to stop and step back and to reflect,” she said. “It gave us this opportunity to step back in time to how the event felt when it was just the organizations and just a few people. It was very intimate. It was really nice.”

Many Mouths One Stomach, which puts on the annual event, is ready this year to welcome back the crowds at the 32nd annual All Souls weekend Nov. 6-7.

Cathy Jacobus clutches a picture of her father, Charlie Jacobus, during the 2018 All Souls Procession on Tucson’s west side. The community’s shared experience with the pandemic adds a deeper need for reflection at this year’s event, organizers say.

The festival actually launched Oct. 18 with the introduction of the All Souls Mausoleum, a space in the back end of the MSA Annex at 267 S. Avenida del Convento where people can leave prayers and mementos of loved ones to be burned in the urn. The mausoleum, which is open nightly from 6 to 9 p.m., also features a projection wall displaying images of families’ ancestors and a community altar.

“Instead of having only one moment in time where many, many people are gathering in a small space, we decided to lengthen the time that people can interact with the different aspects of the procession that are meaningful,” Hagen said, adding that the mausoleum was created in response to the pandemic and all the grief and heartache it wrought on the community since March 2020.

The All Souls weekend kicks off on Nov. 6 when Tucson’s popular cumbia rock band XIXA — fresh off a European tour — headlines “Luz de Vida II,” a benefit concert for families impacted by homicide. Soda Sun and Hannah Yeun are also on the lineup at the MSA Annex beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 through homicidesurvivorinc.org/luz-de-vida.

The All Souls Procession, which will be live-streamed, begins at 6 p.m. from Grande Avenue and proceeds down city streets and along the Santa Cruz River Walk to the MSA Annex. Most of the people in the procession make up their faces in colorful skeleton skulls and carry mementos of their lost loved ones including family photos. The procession is mostly somber, although some walkers, reflecting the personalities of their loved ones, have been known to skip and dance along the route.

All Souls participants wait to walk on stage with their rememberances during the 29th annual All Souls Procession on Nov. 4, 2018. This year’s All Souls weekend kicks off on Nov. 6.

The procession ends at the Mercado District, where participants can walk across the main stage before the urn-burning ceremony takes place.

“For us, it has always been extremely important for people to dig deep and ask themselves these questions: Who are your ancestors and who are you walking for? What makes this meaningful for you?” said Hagen, who has been involved in All Souls since 1996 and took it over in 1998 when founder Susan Johnson stepped aside.

Hagen said the community’s shared experience with the pandemic adds a deeper need for reflection at this year’s event.

“We are forced into a situation of internality and self contemplation. I think people used it in different ways however they decided to use that time. But also to look at our fears and our mortality,” she said. “I hope that (through) our shared experience that we can transform those into fertilizer that helps us grow into more fulfilled beings, deeper beings; more thoughtful beings.”

Benjamin Albert Yanez, left, hugs his girlfriend, Amy Vance during the finale of the 30th All Souls Procession in Tucson on Nov. 3, 2019. The 31st annual event was not open to the general public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

An 8-foot tall puppet from Red Herring Puppets will loom large on the finale stage, where Tucson cirque troupe Flam Chen and the all-woman folklorico/mariachi group Las Azaleas will perform.

All Souls will be Las Azaleas’s biggest performance since Tucson voice teacher and opera singer Diana Olivares formed the quintet in June 2020. The group is devoted to performing works made famous by women or composed by women.

The All Souls Procession launched in Tucson in 1990 with a ceremonial performance piece created by local artist Susan Johnson. Johnson was grieving the passing of her father, and as an artist, she found solace in a creative, celebratory approach to memorializing him, the All Souls website says.

Brittany Canfield, left, holds a photo of her grandmother, Angelita Lara, while Steven Rodriguez holds a photo of Debby Jean Stephens at the All Souls Procession in Tucson on Nov. 4, 2018. “For us, it has always been extremely important for people to dig deep and ask themselves these questions: Who are your ancestors and who are you walking for? What makes this meaningful for you?” said All Souls Artistic Director Nadia Hagen.

“From the beginning, it was different people’s ethnic groups, different cultures, but also it was all these different art forms put together,” Johnson said.

After that first year, many artists were inspired to continue, growing the procession into its modern incarnation — a two-mile long human-powered procession that ends in the ceremonial burning of the urn.

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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch