November 1st: Dia de los Difuntos

 Halloween has become popular in Spain in more recent years....though it´s still very rare to see children trrick-or-treating or Halloween decorations in the US. Mostly, it´s an occasion for the kiddies to have fun dressing up and going to school and eating candy......and of course, older people nearer to my age (and that of my friends) consider this an opportunity in which to dress up (usually girls in skimpy outfits) and party.

I like Halloween, I really do. I still think it´s a shame that a lot of people are losing our own tradition from these days, though. You see, in Spain on November 1st we celebrate "El Dia de Todos los Santos" or "El Dia de los Difuntos" (All Saints Day or The Day of our Dead).

It´s a day which has traditionally been reserved to celebrate and honor our ancestors, visit their graves and lay flowers on them....generally, a day of quiet contemplation and reflection, remembering those who have passed. Sadly, year by year, there are more people here who forget this holiday in favor of Halloween. Silly when you think about it--the day we actually get the holiday on (it´s a National Holiday, in fact) is on November 1st, not October 31st.

This year I haven´t been able to visit my family´s graves. I can never visit all of them, of course--since I have relative buried both in Valencia and in Tarragona, and both places are quite apart--but I usually visit at least one of the cemeteries. This year, we didn´t go to Tarragona--my relatives from Tarragona came over to spend the long weekend. I thought I wouldn´t really mind not going, but somehow....I really missed it. I missed visiting the graves and wandering through the graveyard. Don´t get me wrong, I´m not a creepy person--but who can deny that a cemetery isn´t a peaceful place?

I still dedicated a while today to reflecting upon and remembering everyone.....especially my grandfather, who passed away before this summer (may he rest in peace).....but I really felt like I should be over there, cleaning the gravestones and laying flowers and maybe breaking some off from the bouquet and putting them on some of the really old graves that people don´t seem to visit. Just to show that someone remembers, even though I haven´t met or heard of them before.

My cousin said "It doesn´t have to be November 1st for you to visit their tombstones." But it does. because we´re so far away from the rest of the family that we don´t get to travel to visit whenever we want to--and graveyards have very strict opening times. In our small town, it only opens two days a week: wednesdays and sundays, for 3 hours each. They might be able to pop on down.....but we can´t. It always opens on the 1st of November, no matter what day of the week it is. We can visit.

Besides, it´s called "Dia de los Difuntos". It´s a day dedicated specifically to the dead. If that isn´t reason enough to pay them a visit, then what is?

Next year I´m definitely going, even if I have to take a train for 3 and a half hours. I´ve realized that I somewhat need to find that peace there to be at peace with myself. Some things are truly ingrained, I believe. My parents taught me this tradition, and I will honor it--and teach it to my children, and to my students. There are some things which should not be lost to the flow of time.

Lolita 30 Day Challenge: Day 1

For day one of the Lolita 30 Day challenge, this is what I have to do: 

 Day 1: 10 things about your lolita bubble

Truthfully, I´m not quite sure what it means by "lolita bubble". But taking from the expression "personal bubble", I´ll assume that it means to define aspects in relation to lolita and myself. So, here goes:

1.  I am a girl who considers herself  "not quite a lolita yet"- I´ve only dressed in full out-lolita (i.e. with my huge petti and a wig) in public a few times. I tend to dress more in "casual lolita" when I feel the urge, since I´m a person with a bit of an eclectic style.
2. My family environment isn´t very accepting of lolita: my mother hates it (and has expressed her embarassment about my dressing loli), my father thinks I´m a bit crazy, and my brother doesn´t particularly care one way or another. My aunts and uncles.....well, best not talk about them. They´ve refused to be seen in public with me when I´m dressed "like that", as have my cousins. 
3. My town envoronment isn´t particularly supporting either: I have gotten stared at, catcalled and taken pictures of without permission.  :/ On the other hand, nice old ladies have complimented my dress, bonnet and petti on several occasions. That has to count for a bit of positive feeling. :3
4. My friends: are actually pretty supportive. I have one friend who lilol occasionally dress in punk loli or goth loli to match with me. I have another that doesn´t care, as long as I´m not too extreme (she´s even bought a loli dress for herself as an experiment to wear to a Con with me). I have yet another who has told me that she´s seen my slow attraction to all things loli, and that it was  logical that I´d end up like this (LoL). And so on and so forth. So: Yay friends!!
5. I am an active member of an Asian Fashion forum (MAF), and have met many wonderful lolitas (and non-lolitas) there, who I also consider friends.
6. I was initially very attracted to sweet lolita, especially OTT prints, but have grown out of that phase. Now I´m more interested in Classic style, or substyles like coutry lolita or sailor lolita. I think they´re more versatile, since they can be used in loli coords and in more mainstream coords, sometimes.
7.  My wardrobe has a lot of Meta in it, a Baby and AP pair of pieces, and one IW, but actually I really like Alice and the Pirates. I have a few Bodyline pieces, but it´s mostly secondhand brand, since I figure--I don´t dress lolita so often that I need an extensive wardrobe. Which means: I deliberate quite a bit, and then buy. The only breand non-secondhand that I own is a Meta Ruffle Pinafore JSK in navy. And the tax on it nearly killed me (70 euros!! More than a third of the price of the JSK in TAX!!), so I´m wary of buying NEW brand again soon.
8. For me, dressing lolita must involve wigs or hairpieces of some sort. Otherwise, I don´t get that "primped up" and "dolled up" feeling that I want to feel when I dress loli. I´m into braids at the moment. Braids and buns.
9. I actually don´t recall when I first became enamoured of lolita. It sprang into being sometime, probably initiated by an anime or something, then a search for pictures, and then falling in love with the pettis, dresses and outfits (again, since I loved dresses as a youg child).
10. To me, lolita is a way to express myself and wear things that I think are pretty, even if they´re not mainstream. It´s my way to indulge in the "love of cute things" that is so characteristic and ingrained within my self that I will never let it go. Thogh  sometime I feel insecure with all of the stares an comments, when it comes right down to it.....I´d rather walk around with my Usakumya, hug it, get whispered about and perhaps blush a bit than long for an Usakumya but be too scared to buy it. 

Well. that´s it: 10 things about the "lolita world", applied to myself. Here are picture of my two Usakumya as a gift. :3

<---This is Sir Rabbit of Bear. He´s a size large Usakumya, in blackxblue. I got him as a self-birthday present this year.

This is Agent Conejoso 007-->

(Bunnybear Agent 007). He´s a size medium Usakumya,  

  in offwhitexoffwhite. He´s my first 

Usakumya, got him around last 

November,I think.