When Drea Colores started volunteering to help with the Procession of Little Angels in 2007, it was to be a part of something she felt connected to.
She never expected that she would be building an altar for her own little angel four years later.
Toward the end of a smooth pregnancy with identical twins, Colores got the crushing news that one of her babies had died.
The next day, her surviving daughter, Ripley, was born.
"It was terrible. It's still terrible," Colores said. "It was super bittersweet because at the same time I had this death and this loss, but I also had this brand new baby and I was super in love with her, so it was really heartbreaking."
Ripley is four now and knows all about her twin sister, Mia.
Ripley's twin sister died the day before she was born. She and her family attend the Procession of Little Angels each year to celebrate and remember little Mia.
"She understands she had a sister and that they were in my belly at the same time and she understands that she died," Colores said. "It's important for us to talk about her and remember her because she was Ripley's identical twin...I know they would look the same."
The Procession of Little Angels has played an important role in talking about and remembering Mia.
Even though the family now lives in San Diego, they come to Tucson, build an altar for Mia and help with the event each year.
"It has made me aware that a child's death is tragic and completely possible," Colores said. "It's really cathartic to not only celebrate and remember my daughter, but to also be surrounded by people feeling the same pain, joy and grief because it's a rarely talked about issue with infant loss, miscarriage, stillborn...So to be able to come out and be surrounded by people who have been surrounded by that experience and celebrate the memory of that soul, it's just really powerful."
Paper flowers, butterflies and lights are usually included in Colores' altar for Mia. But, this year she might include sand from the beach since they spread some of of her ashes there, as well as a photo of Ripley looking in a mirror so "you can see a picture of what Mia would look like," Colores said.
They might also include music.
"It's a celebration, too," Colores said. "If Mia hadn't died, I wouldn't be the mother I am today. I am painfully aware of how things can be gone now and it makes me more attentive and more appreciative. It makes me spoil my daughter a lot more, that's for sure.."
Colores also lost her father that year and her husband lost his. The family called it "the year of death."
Through all of that tragedy, Colores said it pulled the family closer together.
Her whole family gets together to attend the Procession of Little Angels and to walk in the All Souls Procession.
"It's just something that's important to me, especially to know that I had that tragedy in my life and I have lived trough it and I am held up by it, but it gives me a second to take a second from the day-to-day and grieve because you get so busy and lost you forget to grieve and forget that it's necessary and that there's pain that's still there," Colores said. "So, it's my time out where I can say 'I can feel it. I give myself permission and it's ok. I'm surrounded by people who love me and it's okay.''
What is the Procession of Little Angels?
The Procession of Little Angels is a yearly event that celebrates deceased loved ones from the perspective of a child.
You'll find a children's altar, crafts, face painting, performances and a procession around Armory Park, across the street from the Children's Museum Tucson.
Community members are welcome to bring photographs or remembrances of children to place on the children's altar.
Photo by Greg Bryan/Arizona Daily Star
Why should I take my family?
In short, it's a chance to see something different and to start conversations with your kids about life and death. If you have lost someone, even a pet, it's a nice way to remember him or her, alongside thousands of others who have experienced loss as well.
It's not all sad and somber. It's also a celebration. Kids will be able to decorate wings, make lanterns, get their face painted and see performances by Stories that Soar and Tucson Circus Arts.
"Little Angels, just like the All Souls Procession, is a time and a place where we step out of our ordinary lives and take the time to recognize the essentials of human life, which are mortality, love, friends, family and the sense of community," said Jhon Sanders, who organizes the event. "So it's an opportunity to stop all of our various routines and come together as a community and be able to have that experience together. And you see a lot of things there you don't have an opportunity or don't take the opportunity to experience in every day life. You have conversations there you don't normally have, especially with kids. The altars there and the conversations around those altars..and they have the opportunity to see people their own age have died and are being remembered there."
The urn, which is walked through the All Souls Procession and burned during the finale, will also be there.
"It's a really good opportunity to access the urn," Sanders said. "It's kind of difficult to do on the night of the procession...If you want to place an object or message in the urn, Little Angels is a great time to do it. It will be there the whole four hours."
When and where is it?
The event takes place from 3-7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Armory Park, across the street from the Children's Museum at 220 S. Fifth Ave.
Get there at 3 p.m. if you want to participate in art-making activities. You'll be able to do that until 5:30. Performances start at 5:30 and the procession starts at 6 p.m., as soon as it gets dark.
The event and activities are free to attend, but donations will be accepted at the art tables.
"The event costs about $3,000 to produce, so any help from families there who participate or appreciate Little Angels would be greatly appreciated," Sanders said.
