Golden morning sunlight gilded gravestones of the old Fort Lowell Cemetery as David Figueroa Zamora solemnly raked.
He raked up plant debris. He raked the soil smooth around century-old graves.
He raked plots where his own ancestors lie at rest - doing his part to clean the hallowed ground in preparation for today's observance of the Day of the Dead.
"I'll be here someday," he said, flashing a smile to temper the thought of his own burial. "We've all got to go somewhere."
Figueroa was one of about 30 people - descendants of residents of the historic Fort Lowell Neighborhood - who gathered recently at the north-side burial ground to clean and decorate the graves of their family members.
It was a labor of love, a traditional tribute of toil in the cemetery, at East Fort Lowell Road and North Laurel Avenue, to the west of Swan Road.
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The workers and others with family members interred at the site were to return today to mark the Day of the Dead, also known as El DÃa de los Muertos.
Visitors are welcome at the cemetery.
DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
"The Day of the Dead is very special - a time when we remember the people who have gone before us," said Gloria Romo, whose grandparents, parents and uncles are buried in the cemetery.
"This has been the cemetery for residents of the Fort Lowell Neighborhood and for their descendants" since the early 1900s, Romo said.
"Cleaning it before the Day of the Dead is a way of showing our respect."
Benny Ochoa, who was born in the neighborhood and roamed its dusty streets as a child in the 1940s, recalled that "everybody was so close."
"And when we come together here - residents and their families - we are still very close," Ochoa said. "It's part of our lives to come here and do this."
OLD SOULS AT REST
• "This is my grandmother," said Sylvia DeMontigny, pausing in her work and pointing out the 1922 grave of Clara M. Urias de Jacobo. "And my grandfather was born here in Fort Lowell.
"I lived here until I was 10 or 11," DeMontigny said. "It was so nice. We would go discover the desert and make little houses out of bushes. Everybody knew each other, and it's so great to get together here and remember our families."
• "I've buried quite a few of my family (members) here," Alex Diaz said as he carefully cleaned grounds near the plots of his father, Martin, and grandfather, Francisco.
"I think it's important to keep the cemetery clean - to do a little good deed," Diaz said.
• Federico Colmenero brought something special to the grave of his mother: music.
Strumming a guitar and singing in Spanish, he rendered a heartfelt melodic tribute.
"I sing to my mom every time I come here," said Colmenero, whose brother, Joe Gastello, sang along in soft tones on some verses.
"It's been hard," Colmenero said of the loss of his mother. "But she grew us up strong. She taught me how to sing and how to pray."
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192.
