Cempasuchil II

San José Manialtepec, Oaxaca. October, 2020.

Towards the end of my Oaxaca trip, driving the coastal road from Mazunte to Puerto Escondido airport, I spotted glimpses of orange and red through the window. Traffic is rarely serendipitous, but it was that day, where I spotted a family at a wooden booth selling a rare flower, the Cempasúchil. It was nearing Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, as the sellers were loading the cars of families buying the flower for their altars to celebrate their loved ones. I stood fascinated, captured for a few minutes while they performed an otherwise mundane task, extraordinary to only me. I bought some flowers and left.

All colors are original to the photograph and are not digitally created.