Give a child a paintbrush … and you’ll be wiping down walls for months.

Ah, but give a child a paintbrush and a mission and soon enough the child will be creating art.

On Sunday at Belles Artes, there was a whole lot of art going on. Two stories worth of bristling, carefree, happy kids unleashed into a crafty and colorful world of creativity.

It was enough to stick a permanent grin on a crusty old adult’s face.

There were tables filled with kids painting skulls. There were tables filled with kids painting mini-mojigangas. There were tables with kids coloring in drawings, making headpieces like those so beloved by Frida Khalo. Kids were dressing up paper skeletons, creating Catrinas and Calaveras from papier–mâché. Kids were adding thoughtful brush strokes to a community mural.

They were dancing and lunging with imaginary swords while wearing virtual reality goggles and watching old-fahioned movies in the theater.

The finale was a talent show for which about 15 kids had signed up to sing, play music, dance and goodness knows what.

The Festival de Vivos Y Muertos in Centro Cultural el Negroponte has been a part of the city’s Dia de los Muertos festivities for nine years, according to Tina Bueche who helped create this day for kids with a couple of her friends.

“We felt that these celebrations needed something that was only for kids,” she said on Sunday.

It is a purely volunteer affair. Planning begins in the summer and it builds to this one day on the donations and volunteer work of so many in San Miguel. Children and their parents literally walk through the giant doors of Belles Artes and grab a seat at any table to begin creating festive crafts and arts.

I hope these pictures capture just some of the joy, laughter, and delight that filled the courtyard of Belles Artes on Sunday. (Click on individual pictures to enlarge.)

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Put more magic in your life!

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