October 28, 2024
Lucinda Hutson happily puts up Day of the Dead decorations, displaying her collection of traditional sugar skulls and skeletons throughout her purple home in Austin’s Rosedale neighborhood.
I visited last week with podcaster Jennifer Jewell from Cultivating Place. He was in town to speak at Garden Spark. Lucinda invited us to share in the bittersweet joy of this Mexican holiday that remembers and celebrates the lives of loved ones who have passed away.
In the kitchen, Lucinda poured us glasses of tequila and chasers of sangrita, and we sipped our drinks in her colorful living room.
Faded roses express the emotions of the season.
Love and Peace, the framed picture reads.
Colored foil brings the sugar skull eyes to life.
Shining silver, milagro, and strings of pearls mingle on a buffet.
One of her Day of the Dead altars displays photos of her father in a cowboy hat, her beloved cat, Sancho Rey, and numerous skeletons from her collection of Mexican folk art.
In Lucinda’s writing room, a brass praying mantis poses in rose-tinted glass.
Above the door hangs a portrait of Lucinda’s grandmother, wearing a blouse and arms outstretched.
Lucinda, wearing her trademark purple, is watched over by her grandmother’s spirit.
Thank you, Lucinda, for sharing with me once again the story of the Day of the Dead and the joy of your home and garden!
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