Day of the Dead
Like I told you already, I went downtown on Friday to see the annual Day of the Dead celebration in the Zócalo. The day(s) of the dead are celebrated on October 31 until November 2. Here’s a translation of what the program they were handing out said:
The sacred ancient Mexican space of Mictlan refers to the mythical place where all individuals, when they die from natural causes, had to pass through dangerous places that, for four years, tested their intelligence and values that they learned in their lifetime.
For those from Mesoamerica, arriving at Mictlan was a mandatory path, a place of purification, in order to transition to other states of being. And one of the main doors to enter Mictlan was found close to Templo Mayor, with the present day Zócalo as its heart.
My thoughts on the celebration are many. A few things that I noted were the many people talking about how much the Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday, and that it should be celebrated, and Halloween should not be celebrated, which echoes what I read about the Catholic church of Mexico’s comments earlier in the week. There were also many politically charged “ofrendas,” or traditional altars.
There is always some sort of protest going on downtown, and Friday was no exception, as we watched hundreds of people protesting naked in one corner of the main plaza.
As for the celebration, it has almost gotten to a point of art. The “ofrendas” were elaborate, and the displays, artistically speaking, were incredible. I could tell that hours of work had gone into creating them. The celebration was attended by thousands of people. It was the largest cultural event I had been to since coming to Mexico.
I have more thoughts on the Day of the Dead, but I feel it warrants another post, so I’ll finish this post with some pictures from the festival downtown.
Click a thumbnail to see larger version
If you want to see the whole set on Flickr, click here.
I posted a video from the event here.
This morning, as I was having my umtenth cup of coffee and getting ready to study for an exam, I had this overwhelming desire to seek you out and see how you are doing. I have read your website and it looks like you are doing some amazing work for God. I hope as is well where ever you are at the moment.
In case you are wondering, this is Matt, your step brother, Although now I go by Thomas. Well, stay safe in your daily travels and my prayers go out to you and your family…
Nov 6th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
[…] Dennis Poulette reflects on the art of the day (notice the emphasis on Aztec beliefs about the underworld) […]
Nov 7th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
[…] When I went downtown to observe the Day of the Dead celebrations, I was extremely interested in the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church with respect to the celebration. I wondered if they would be participating in the celebration. The picture to the left is an altar set up in the Cathedral downtown. I was very interested to see it, and it looked exactly like the other “ofrendas” that were outside (see my video of the celebration). […]
Nov 2nd, 2008 at 8:18 am
[…] a quick shot of the festivities for the Day of the Dead in downtown Mexico […]