El Día de los Muertes

Many who have visited the Mexican pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot may have noticed a section featuring one of Mexico's most interesting, some consider it the most important holiday, The Day of the Dead, when families honor the dead with feasting and parades. Much of the art of Mexican crafters is based on the icons of this holiday; mainly skulls and skeletons. La Calavera, above, is representative of the genre. The artist, Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), was a political cartoonist and folk artist whose illustrations have become synonymous with the Day of the Dead.

Also by Posada are these pieces featured below:

It may seem to some that skeletons are icons of death, and one may consider it macabre that these icons are shown in everyday circumstances mimicking activities of live people. There is a very interesting explanation of the grinning skulls and dancing skeletons at: The Days Of The Dead. Here are a couple of excerpts from Vera Cala's very informative site.

"Day of the Dead, or el Día de los Muertos, is a happy celebration in Mexico. That's when the souls of the dearly departed return home to the world of the living. All of them. From Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, they descend upon their families and for two days, November 1 and 2, they rejoice together. ...In the Latino culture, The Dead are full of Life. We see it in the statues, toys and trinkets of el Día De Los Muertos. Miniature skeletons sporting mohawks and big grins play in rock bands. Paper mache skulls bear pink flowers for eyes and green lizards on their brows. Wooden skeletons on rods dance wildly, with arms and legs flailing, whenever you pull their string. The calaveras sing, dance, laugh - they even ride on merry-go-rounds and drive rickety wooden trucks. And of course, they drink pulque, (a fermented drink made from cactus)."

To learn more about the Day of the Dead customs, or to view more art, try the following links as well:

• DAY OF THE DEAD
  
• Casa Mexicana: Folk Art and Fine Art of Mexico
  
• Mexican Dance, Music, Art & Culture Web Sites
  
• LatinoLink: El Día de los Muertos 1995
  
• Dia de los Muertos Links
  
• Maestros del Arte Mexicano
  
• Felipe's Day of the Dead page
  
• ASU Art Museum - Posada exhibit
  

  A good deal of the art created for the festivals is in the form of food, especially the sugar skulls and other types of candy. The food that they bring to the cemeteries or to the shrines of their relatives is traditional food, usually the favorite foods of the departed. The skeletons, made of paper mache, ceramic, wood or tin, have become highly collectible items, especially in the United States. Being a collector myself, I find these pieces sometimes very hard to find, and in certain areas, very expensive. Part of the fun of going to any new city is prowling around to find the little shops that might carry them. If you know a good source in the New England area, drop me a line please. I haven't added a new piece to my collection in over a year. BrerJon@aol.com Some, of course, are very inexpensive, and there are enterprising merchants who have put them on t-shirts and cups. Most of the art that's depicted on this page, especially La Calavera and the Dance, are part of a whole line of t-shirts devoted to the art of José Posada. These are fun to find also (and go well with everything from shorts to tuxedos).

  
  

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  This site was last updated June 26, 1998.