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Dia de Los Muertos infused Terlingua Cemetery, already a living shrine, with a heavy dose of love and spirit.
School children from San Vicente and Terlingua schools, among others, prepared the cemetery by cleaning and decorating the grounds. Bill Ivey, owner and steward of much of The Ghost Town, shared history with the children before they turned over more than 300 candle holders, emptying water and dirt back onto the grave sites.
When the sun set on Dia de Los Muertos, elaborate altars beckoned the departed souls with offerings of food, memories and enticing indulgences. As is traditional with this sacred holiday, many individuals chose to adorn themselves in costumes befitting the occasion - angels, skeletons, and other Dia de Los Muertos symbology. Terlingua residents and visitors alike walked the cemetery, offering prayer, breaking bread in a community feast and singing into the night.
Dia de los Muertos is a day when the veil is lifted between this world and beyond, allowing the dead and the living to meet somewhere in between.
Jessica Lutz is a citizen reporter for KRTS, Marfa Public Radio.