To celebrate the Day of the Dead, a group of us went down to Saltillo Plaza in downtown east Austin to enjoy a parade that is held annually, and this year we were treated to a bonus: dancing zombies!

Just before Halloween, almost 900 people who had spent months rigorously (ha ha!) preparing gathered at Palmer Auditorium to participate in an event called “Thrill the World” which was an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest synchronized “Thriller” dance on earth. Not only was the old record smashed (?), but Austin was the city with the highest number of participants by a factor of nearly 10! I love this town!

The zombies had all gathered to walk in the parade and then give a repeat performance dowtown, and so rehearsed their steps before the encore to the crowd's great amusement. Please note the vial of fake blood on the ground that has been separated from its owner in a moment of exhuberant dancing.

After watching the zombies shimmy and shake, we retreated to our now favorite observation post (La Perla) to watch the parade go by while we drank cold longnecks and hooted at the undead.

Two of the traditional and predominant themes for the Austin Dia de los Muertos parade are costumed chiuhuahuas and Freida Khalo look alikes. This gal easily won my vote for best participant with her amazing costume, awesome rendering of Freida as a chihuahua and mind bogglingly clever coffin chariot.

After the parade, we sashayed over to Nuevo Leon to sit on the patio, drink margaritas and watch the aftermath of the parade. While we sat and munched on chips and salsa, a classic sobriety test was administered to a fella that had been detained by the police.

At the end of a long course of gueling coordination tests, the driver was put in handcuffs and gently guided into the back of the squad car. Some 10 minutes later, a huge wrecker with an enormous hydraulic ramp arrived to take away the driver's vehicle.

Only it was a little bitty scooter. Tee hee!

House in the middle of the road!