I need to write some enrties in this blog!!
Tonight is Halloween and a part of the Dia de los Muertos celebration. This is such a big thing here in Mexico. I have been about the center of town since about 5:30 pm and just needed to get to bed, as it is now 10:30 pm (or rather 11:30 if didn't move my clock back for daylight savings time). I wish that I had a camera, but my three were taken in two bags last month shortly after we arrived here and I have yet to get any replacement camera. Therefore, I will try to describe the scene verbally, particularly for those of my followers not at all familier with Mexican culture. I cheated and found some images on the internet that represent some tiny bit of what I saw :(
To begin with, El Dia de los Muertos has its roots in the beliefs and rituals of the Aztecs, one of the major indiginous peoples who lived in central Mexico over 500 years ago. The Aztecs believed that dead relatives returned home once a year to seek nurishment and community. Basically, Dia de los Muertos is set aside to remember those who have died. The custom is to invite the deceased to come home on this day to visit the living, so an altar is created and certain items used in it's construction, each item playing a significant part in the whole structure. There are marigold flowers - the floral carpet leads the souls back home and the marigold is believed to carry the smell of death, incense of copal (a woody aroma) helps lead to lead the departed to the Ofrenda or offering, candles also provide a guiding light for the soulsphotos or images of the deceased give the dead a feeling of being back home again, and there are objects that the deceased liked, salt is displayed to remind us of the basic elements that we will all return some day, foods, alcoholic beverages and candies (sugar skull and catrina figures remininding us of life's fragility) are placed to feed the dead - it is believed that the spirit receives nurishment from the smells and then the food is shared by the family, and then there are hundreds of paper sheets that have cutouts of skeletons, flowers, birds, and coffins and they are hung overhead or on the backgrounds.
So these altars are in many of the stores, homes, and public places around town (actually all over Mexico). On the public square (El Jardin) there are altars for many of the national heroes and figures. These are larger altars are manned by people dressed as the hero or as guardians. Each of these larger altars is layed out on the pavement in a 12 x 12 square and images are created using corn and other grains, beans, etc. The images are them edged with yellow marigolds.
The next thing are the catrina dolls and costumes. When the dead return they return in thier finest clothes, but they are only a skeleton. Therefore, a popular costume for this day (and halloween is a big costume day here) are the catrina costumes - most of the catrina women wear a long dark colored dress (often of Victorian vintage) with large brimmed hats sporting feathers and stuff. As you recall these represent the dead, so the face is painted white in the image of a skull (black for eye sockets and teeth showing) the arms are often white with bones drawn on them. The men typically are dressed in tuxedos or black suits and a white skull face is used, as well. These catrina characters will parade into the square amid clamorous music and pomp and then mill around the crowds in the square. A large majority of the people with costumes will have their faces painted. Usually it will be one side of the face with the white skull and the other side normal. There will be other costume, as well.
Then there are the costumes of the indiginous people dressed in the garb of the Aztecs with incredible feather headdresses - today feathers are predominately pheasant, peacock, and other domesticated foul, but originally the feathers were from some of the spectacular birds of the region. The rest of the attire is a mix of leather and colorful woven fabrics. Then there are the indiginous tribes of northern Mexico, particularly the Apaches, and their garb is quite different. They are clad in animal skins, skulls, and horns and eagle feathers. Their dances are more primative than the dances of the Aztecs. In both cases there are sounds eminating from these groups that are immitating sounds of nature: flutes and whistles and drums and rattles and horns and clay vases - all used to create so many different sounds in an erie kind of way. Around their ankles are large wraps that have attached dozens of large seed pods that create a rattling sound when they walk. This part of the square is in front of the parroquia or main parrish church of the community. Mingling all around the square until midnight are children in costumes and bags begging for candys and treats (So now I know why the hispanic trick-r-treaters in our neighborhood come around so late). It is quite a festive scene.
Of course the square is also full of mariachi bands playing to anyone willing to toss some coins their way. So from one side of the square are mariachis and on the other side is the indiginous sounds, and on another are the sounds of contemporay music form a nearby bar and the sound of children. A constant change is focus.
The square is also adorned with cutout papers of every color imaginable. The whole sight and sound was an overload to the senses.
After I had enough of the festivities I headed to Joseph's place to listen to Bob Livinston play a solo set or two of progressive country and then to jamb with a great local blues band for the rest of his second set. Great, fun musical entertainment!
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