The group costumers are some of the most fun. Tired of being ‘just another flapper girl?’ Well, plenty of costume can be made from just a few (and I mean few) feet of medical bandages together with some cobwebs and body paint. The most popular costumes attract crowds of other marchers, like the coordinated checker cab girls who had a large cadre of people in tow. On the other hand, the guy wearing a white sheet and exposing his grotesque prosthetic to parade goers is, unsurprisingly and unmistakably, on his own… yet again. I find a troupe of four Teletubbies and wonder how they decided who gets to be Tinky Winky (the purple teletubby with the upside-down triangle tiara), and why they bother with anyone other than Tinky Winky.
For the second night in a row, I’m photographing Brazilian Carnaval-style dancers, only the dancers at El Museo del Barrio’s Dia de los Muertos event did not have Five O’Clock shadows of stubble! The sounds of a bullwhip cracking against the pavement catches my attention, and I witness the bizarre spectacle of a Lara Croft, bull whip in hand, chasing a mischievous rabbit who is obviously late for a very important date: getting the hell away from the crazy lady with the bull whip. Who can forget the bulldog with a baseball cap? And the hula-hooped woman battling Friday the 13th’s Jason?
