Todos Santos, Part 1

Todos Santos, All Saints Day, is a special time for the families around Carmen Pampa. The souls of departed family members return to the community once per year, and visit their living relatives. Last night I went up to the neighboring community Chovacollo to see friends and pray for the souls that were at their houses, visiting.

At one compadre's house, the family was up baking bread for the family altar they were preparing for the parents and other relatives who no longer lived on Earth.



At another house, the mother had made an altar for her daughter who died this year ("She just wasted away," the mother explained). I sat for a few hours talking to the farmers that had congregated there.



It is a nice time to slow down, reconnect with old friends, hear stories about the past, and contemplate our lives and the time we have left to make a difference for our brothers and sisters, wherever they are, however we can.