Tap Through The Beat

The Slums

We followed Hector until we reached the outskirts of this place. I noticed that the more we walk, the shabbier and rotten the houses became. Hector began to walk across a wooden plank "Are you sure you know where you are going?" I asked with a hint of uncertainty. Hector nodded as an answer and Miguel was busy looking at his now skeletal hand.

"Why the heck would you want to be a musician?" Hector asked as we walked down a flight of planked stairs "My great great great grandpa was a musician" Miguel answered and Hector huffed "Who spent his life performing like a monkey for complete strangers? Eck! No, no, no!" Miguel glared a little bit at Hector.

"Are there yet?" I asked, my feet were killing me from all the walking. Hector smiled, his upper body half turned "We're almost there" With that, he literally jumped down from the plank. Miguel and I ran up and looked down and watched in awe to see him slowly put himself together with ease.

"Come on you two keep up"

Hector said jokingly as he continued forward. We quickly scrambled down the last flights of stairs.

"I now have another reason to envy the dead"

I muttered and Miguel looked at me "What was your first?" I shrugged "They never complain on the aches of their feet" At this, Miguel chuckled. We saw woody and cruddy looking houses as we passed by.

What is this place?

"Hey! Cousin Hector!"

"Hey! These guys!"

We saw the skeletons living in those houses greet him warmly with smiles of their yellowish bones. It almost felt like home.

Great, I'm starting to feel homesick.

"These are all your family?"

Miguel asked and Hector gave a noise before shrugging again "These are just people who have no photos on their ofrendas, no family to go home to so we all just call ourselves cousins or - or whatever" Hector bent down to grab a bottle of wine.

Dante stood back when an alebrijie of a frog and a rabbit came hopping away and jumped in the waters where the splash landed on Dante.

The poor dog gave a whine.

"Hey Tia Cielo!" Hector greeted as he walked towards a group of girls in their 70s.

The girls greeted Hector with the same enthusiasm. Hector placed the wine in front of them and they began to pour it on their glasses.

"Is Chicharron around?" Hector asked before Tia Alma answered "In the bungalow, I don't think he wants any visitors" She giggled.

Hector waved her off before heading towards an old wooden house across where the girls are "Na, who would want a visit from cousin Hector?!" He happily pushed the rotten door aside and Miguel and I stepped in.

I nearly coughed from all the dust that was in this house and everything looked like they had been stashed not properly arranged together. Hector approached a hammock and on it was a huge cloth covering a bundle.

"Buenas Noches Chicharron"

Hector greeted as he lifted the bundle to see a small, grumpy looking skeleton. Chicharron glared at Hector.

"I don't want to see your stupid face Hector"

Well that was blunt.

"Come on, it's Dia de Muertos. I brought you a little offering" Hector said cheerfully as he held the glass of wine in front of the man's face which he angrily swatted away "Get out of here!" I was beginning to wonder what Hector did to make this man hate him so much.