Day of the Dead event funding draws scrutiny

While some know “Day of the Dead” as an American horror flick, it is also the English translation of “Día de los Muertos,” the festival that honors souls of the departed.

Compared to a normal Nov. 1-2 celebration in Mexico, Scottsdale often gets a jump on things – this year’s “Dia de los Muertos” events took place from Oct. 23-26. Festival producers described it as “an ancient ritual that both remembers the dead and mocks death.”

Two days before face painting tricks and sugar skull treats at the Civic Center, a fangs-out debate seemed to rise from the grave over too-sweet funding and not enough local make-up.

At stake: hundreds of thousands of “bed tax” dollars.

With tourists pouring money into Scottsdale, the city aims to keep a perpetual-motion engine revving: 1) pump a portion of ho