In a traditional ceremony that predates the arrival of Columbus, Domitila Mendoza had come to pay honor to the dead. But the altar here in Santa Lucía, a suburb of Oaxaca City, was not dedicated to her ancestors, but rather to a young New York Indymedia journalist who was shot dead last Friday.

"We are hurt; we saw the shootings, and we ran and hid. But he is not dead," said Mendoza, a 63-year-old homemaker as she pointed to a picture of Bradley Will framed by bright orange cempasuchil flowers. "Here he is, for us he is still alive."

This year Day of the Dead carries a heavy weight for many in Oaxaca. In the past five months of conflict between a widespread protest movement and the state government, 16 protesters have been killed in attacks by armed gunmen, some of whom have been identified in photographs as local police and city council members.

After the most recent shooting spree last Friday, where three people including Indymedia reporter Will were shot dead in the street, President Fox sent in the Federal Preventative Police "to restore order" to Oaxaca City.

Nearly a week later, the police have taken control of the Zócalo and key state government buildings, but the protesters continue to organize barricades throughout the city, occupy the university radio station, convoke marches of thousands of people in the city center, and build a new protest camp five blocks from the Zócalo in front of the Santo Domingo Convent.

The Oaxaca People´s Assembly (APPO), the organization that coordinates the protesters´ actions, has called for people to avoid direct confrontations with the police, but to continue taking to the streets in daily demonstrations.

"We are going to begin an offensive of surrounding the PFP, truly beginning the battle for Oaxaca," said Adolfo López, a member of the APPO´s provisional leadership.

"We are going to use ´lethal´ arms against the PFP: traditional Day of the Dead sand sculptures and flowers, in homage to those who have fallen during our movement."

Throughout the day, hundreds of people across the city center have spent hours hunched over in the sun, forming piles of sand in the shapes of skeletons and skulls. They painted the sand various colors and then added flowers, fruit, traditional food offerings such as fried plantains, black beans, and mole sauce, and then placed signs with the names of those who have been killed during the conflict.

"This is the urban guerrilla of which they have accused us," López said.

One of the most prominent names at the altars is that of Bradley Will.

"He was just here to document what was happening, and they killed him," said Viviana, a 22-year-old student who had come to pay homage to Will at one of the altars. "And what is worse, those that killed him were government employees."

Will´s killers were identified in photographs that appeared in EL UNIVERSAL as police officers and city officials from Santa Lucía.

Carla van der Bos, a reporter with Indymedia Netherlands, met Brad in Oaxaca a month ago. She was arriving in Palenque, Chiapas, with two other Indymedia reporters when she heard the news. She turned around and came back to stand over the altar "built around the corner from where Will was killed."

"It was hard to come back," she said as she looked over the altar, standing amidst about 100 people from around the neighborhood who had come to contribute to the altar or just stand in silence.

SAND SCULPTURES

In a slightly more provocative move, protesters built sand sculptures at the feet of the federal riot police who stood in a line blocking all streets leading into the Zócalo. On Alcalá Street, two young women prepared a sculpture with the phrase "Neither forgetting nor forgiveness" formed in sand and painted orange and black over a white background.

Around Santo Domingo, members of the APPO and other residents built scores of altars.

Guillermo Pacheco, a 31year-old visual artist, said he had made sand sculptures for years.

"We have always built sand sculptures in the Zócalo, but now we can´t," he said referring to the police occupation of the Zócalo. "It is outrageous. I am a member of civil society, not of the APPO, but the whole society is shocked, not just the APPO."

Asked if his sculpture was part of the APPO offensive he said: "Yes and no. We have always celebrated Day of the Dead this way, and the celebration has always included criticism of the government."