November Austin Elite Event: Dia de Los Yelpos

It was a night of stunning visuals and cultural celebration. Dia de Los Muertos is a traditional Mexican holiday that occurs after Halloween where people gather to pray for and honor their dead, building elaborate altars and putting on processions or parades. Our event was a tad late – 14 days to be exact – but yelpers showed up to Maria Maria en masse to partake in the cultural holiday. Of course, this time it was more about free booze and free food… but we'll let it slide. After arriving and slapping on a name tag, there were decisions to be made: photobooth? booze? food? facepainting? listening raptly to the dreamy spanish guitar played by Esteban? (Okay so his name was really Steve Sarber but he'll always be Esteban to us!)

Most folks settled into booze first, opting for a frosty Margarita provided by the muy deliciosa Camarena tequila or a frostier yet Imperial beer, with lime, natch. Jennifer G boasts "I think the bartender was trying to sacrifice me to the altar with the tequila drink he poured me." Some folks made a beeline to the food where they feasted (and in some cases waited for) duck tacos, quesadillas and chips and guac. In keeping with tradition, people had their face painted like calaveras (skulls) in creative and beautiful ways by Emily and Oether from BaldO painting. Everyone looked dead… in the very best way. Elite Kristina K was actually refused a cab ride by a totally freaked out cab driver!

James Abbot, altar consultant, put together a stunning altar for folks to place pictures of loved ones who have passed on. In the middle of this sassy event, designer savannahred had six curvy couture models sashay through the party in showstopping DdLM inspired frocks. These ladies worked it — rocking the proverbial red carpet and twirling around the huge tree in the middle of the restaurant. Heather F enumerates the excellence: "Delicious food, beer, margaritas, Spanish guitar, fashion show, photo booth and the list goes on!"

Photobooth by Jonathan Garza caught people mugging for the camera (pics!) with guitar and sombrero and Hank Wizrodt filmed the entire affair. Coming soon to a YouTube channel near you… a party vlog! You too can experience all the Austin elite event glory thanks to the marvels of modern technology. We managed to go through all the food, all the booze, all the dignity we could and then adjourned to an after party at Lucky Lounge for $3 coronas and a band doing mashups.

Colin T wore the party all over his face the next day: "Today our HR lady was looking at me kinda fixedly… 'Are you wearing eyeliner'?"

Until the next fiesta maravillosa, SYOY!

Kelly