But not actually Halloween – it was a combined Halloween/Dia de Los Muertos celebration! I went to the celebration at the cultural center where I dance tango – it’s Argentine but in truth there are many different South and Central American cultures represented. Even though I hardly speak any Spanish, I’m getting quite good at recognizing different Spanish accents. (Ay! I should really learn more Spanish!)

This is the owners’ kid – he’s very cute and friendly.  First he was dressed up like a fireman but then he went to change into his duck outfit.

Gustavo, who runs and owns Esquina Tango with his wife.  He teaches my current tango class – he’s an excellent teacher with a habit of bursting into this rapid, heavily Argentine-accented (to me, at least) Spanish when he wants to make a point and I can’t always follow! Luckily, he’ll switch back to English when he sees my confused face.

With his face all done up. It’s a traditional calaveras design for Dia de Los Muertos.

Another volunteer, with more face painting.  Though I’ve lived in places that celebrate or recognize Dia de Los Muertos all my life, I’ve rarely seen people in the calaveras make-up so I had a great time admiring all the beautiful designs I saw.

This is Monica, Gustavo’s wife, with her son.  I love this picture.  I’m also going to take a moment to say they are some of the nicest, most welcoming people I have ever met.  Esquina is a wonderful, friendly, welcoming place because it reflects the people who run it and that attitude is a huge part of the reason I volunteer, take classes, and go to events. (The other part is Monica and Gustavo are fantastic teachers and host the best events in town.) Even though I’m there at least once a week, I’m always looking forward to my next visit.

More face-painting!  There are some truly talented face-painters around Austin, that is for sure!

Some people did come in costume – here we have Marilyn Monroe happily dancing with a calavera.

And finally, what celebration of anything even remotely related to Halloween in America would be complete without a Thriller dance?  Please just take a moment to picture all the people, with their calaveras face paintings, doing the quintessential Micheal Jackson Thriller dance.  It was glorious.