Dances With Tripods

Roosevelt Lake as seen from Tonto National Monument

Pronounced 'chaw-ya'.

At the base of the Superstition Mountains

At the base of the Superstition Mountains.

700 year old Pueblo ruins, decked out for us photo buffs.
Globe, Arizona, USA
In the 1800’s luminarias were small bonfires built along the roadside to commemorate Christ’s birth. They were used to guide people to Midnight Mass on the final night of LAS POSADAS, “lodging or inn”.
Later people used farolitos, small paper bags with sand in the bottom and a small candle inside to light the bag. This was a substitute for the more dangerous bonfires. Children in the southwest, reenacting the night of Las Posadas often carried the farolitos in their hands. Today they are used to line walkways, driveways and roof tops.
The night of Las Posadas is a festive celebration first introduced to the Mexican Indians by European missionaries reenacting the story of Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging in Bethlehem in a series of NOVENA, “nine days”, beginning December 16th.
Each night a group of carolers would go from…