Editor’s note: Artist and Free Art Friday Albuquerque founder Stephanie Galloway has a talent for capturing the beauty of art—and setting it free. Enjoy Galloway’s Día de los Muertos photos from the 2013 Muertos y Marigolds Parade below.

Sugar skulls and pan de muerto, face paint and papeles picados—it's that time of year again. Dia de los Muertos will be here soon, and Masks y Mas invites the Duke City to come out and celebrate.

Albuquerque’s own Day of the Dead-themed shop at 3106 Central SE will hold their annual fiesta Friday, Oct. 25 so as to “beat everybody else by one week,” says store manager Kenny Chavez.

The event will include art demonstrations—such as the making of papeles picados (colorful paper banners)—as well as a muerte dessert show, sugar skull decorating and a reception featuring 40 local artists. Muerte face paint is available during the event by prior appointment (call the store at 256-4183) and The Cool Arrows, a Latino punk band, will provide live festival tunes.

Chavez says that the event, which has been held in the shop for over a decade, is a time to celebrate and honor lost loved ones. There will be a community altar for photos and keepsakes of those who have passed.

“It is driven by life and death,” Chavez says. “It's all part of the cycle, and it is becoming more a part of the culture in the United States. People have been so fearful of it … but it's a memorial day. And we've turned it into an art form. It's not a mourning thing, it's a celebration.”

November 1st, the Day of the Dead, is nearly upon us, and that means marigolds, skeletal makeup and altars built to honor the deceased. But don’t forget the food!

It is traditional for celebrants to honor departed loved ones by cooking up their favorite meals and placing a portion on a memorial altar or even on the person’s grave itself, symbolically sharing the food with those who have passed on.

Over at the Fiery Foods Blog, Dave DeWitt, Patrick Holian and former Alibi food editor Gwyneth Doland have put together some Dia de los Muertos appropriate recipes for you to use in your celebration of the lives of those who are now gone. Enjoy!

The 13th annual Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade went down in the South Valley on Sunday, Nov. 6. The Alibi covered it in this week’s issue; here are those photos along with about 40 others that didn’t make it to print. Enjoy.

The annual Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade marches through the South Valley today. Clad as calaveras (skeletons), attendees walk and pay tribute to a particular dead person—typically a friend or family member—while colorful marigolds help guide the spirits home. This year's theme is Revelemos los Mitos, or Unmasking the Dream. The parade runs from 4 to 8 p.m., beginning at the South Valley Bernalillo County Sheriff's Substation (2039 Isleta SW) and ending at the Westside Community Center (1250 Isleta SW). For more information, call 363-1326 or visit muertosymarigolds.org.

Posted to Alibi's Flickr photo pool by our super friend Seth Goodman.

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Posted to Alibi's Flickr photo pool by our super friend karl_eschenbach.

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Posted to Alibi's Flickr photo pool by our super friend buzzwink.