You have to be aware of the uselessness of your
self-importance and of your personal history.
Your death can give you a little warning, it always
comes as a chill.
Death is our eternal companion, it is always to our
left, at an arm's length.
How can anyone feel so important when we know that
death is stalking us.
The thing to do when you're impatient is to turn to
your left and ask advice from your death.
An immense amount of pettiness is dropped if your
death makes a gesture to you, or if you catch a glimpse of it, or if you just
have the feeling that your companion is there watching you.
The issue of our death is
never pressed far enough. Death is the only wise adviser that we have.
Freedom is like
a contagious disease. It is transmitted; its carrier is an impeccable nagual.
People might not appreciate that, and that's because they don't want to be
free. Freedom is frightening. Remember that. But not for us.
~ Carlos Castaneda.
In the
Mexican capital, death is intellectualized in museums and galleries, it dresses
up for a night gala in five stars hotels, and yet easily maintains it’s
provincial air in humble neighborhoods.
Bread of the Dead because of the extension of the City, one must visit the
Capital for at least two continuous years during the season of Day of the Dead,
to have a more profound vision of the changes that take place in it’s
inhabitants when they start preparing to celebrate this tradition, so closely
tied to the soul of Mexicans.
To be born and to die is one of the dualities faced by human beings and
everything that exists. This duality is the key to the Mexican idiosyncrasy,
manifested in the pre-Cortez epoch and routed among the centuries in a mix of
pre-Hispanic and religious beliefs, of humor and mysticism, of sadness and joy.
Altar Museum Estudio Diego Rivera like the small towns of the provinces, the
majority of the residents in Mexico City prepare with anticipation to celebrate
with dignity the return of the souls of the dead. In the Capital the offerings
are placed in museums and galleries entrusting the work to artists that
interpret different subjects or motives, in creating truly artistic designs to
later expose them to an array of aromas and colors in which the flower of the
season – the cempasuchitl – is the prevailing one.
It is difficult to calculate the amount of craftsmanship that is sold at
different prices in Mexico City; this shows that the industry that generates
the Day of the Dead is one of the most important affecting the year’s economy
of the city, and at the same time demonstrates that this tradition is more
alive than ever.
Paper mache calaca in what corresponds to the festive activity, besides eating
the chocolate and sugar skeletons with one’s name on it, children, even adults
buy toys with images of an enthusiastic skeleton made of paper mache, and
jointed skeletons which dance when you pull on a string. Very few stay away
from the funeral procession consisting of paper dolls with heads made of
garbanzo, which move by the means of a thread, making the head come out of the
coffin. The craftsman takes advantage of the opportunity to write special
messages on the coffin.
From the bilingual book “Through the Eyes of the Soul Day of the Dead In Mexico
- Mexico City, Mixquic and Morelos”. For information of books about this
tradition, written by Mary J. Andrade, visit www.dayofthedead.com - See more at:
Day of The Dead
music+image
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