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| Lauri Stallings & Hosta 'Forbidden Fruit' 31 October 2024 |
Witchcraft was hung, in History
1583
Witchcraft was hung, in History,
But History and I
Find all the Witchcraft that we need
Around us, every Day—
My first awareness of Halloween began in 1974 in our home in Arboledas, Estado de México. The doorbell rang early afternoon. When I opened the door I faced two little boys, not to clean, who asked, “¿Nos das nuestro jaloüin?” They were asking me to give them coins for Halloween for their idea of what was Halloween.
Up until then I was ignorant of the American holiday and
we celebrated El Día de Los Muertos by buying bread that had the shapes of
bones on top. On November 1 and 2 Mexicans celebrate it. People go to
cemeteries to remember their loved ones. They light candles and leave food. In
short Mexicans celebrate the memory of people who once lived. It is a sad holiday tinged with the happiness of past memories.
Once we moved to Vancouver in 1975, I remember that in many Halloweens it rained when we lived in Burnaby. Ale and Hilary would return all wet and they would share their loot with me. It was then when only Rosemary answered the door. I refused to do this as I tried to escape the noise.
Now, today, Halloween without Rosemary, I will turn off my lights and ignore the few that may knock on my door.
Many years ago, when we had a healthy national magazine in Canada, called Saturday Night I was assigned to photograph a young violinist prodigy. I was told to photograph him with the idea that he had inherited his talent from the devil. This I did.
Paganini, the Devil & Corey Cerovsek
Years after, I photographed one of my favourite Ballet BC dancers, the Florida-born Lauri Stallings. Her style was so unique that I could watch her performance by only looking at her ankles and she stood out. Like Cori Cerovsek, she seemed to have some demonic talent and her expressions could be scary.
And so here is Lauri Stallings posing as a witch with the lovely Hosta ‘Forbidden Fruit’ in its lovely fall colouring.
