LIVING INTO DAY OF THE DEAD

As if the deceased are among us

Day of the Dead is observed in Ajijic and across Mexico on November 2^nd. It’s called Día de los Muertos and I get to be a part of it.

Creativity in honor of ancestors

Preparations are well underway days before. 

I’m discovering that it’s not a scary Halloween type of holiday, but rather an important family celebration.

So colorful

I’m going to the edge of town where bones of ancestors are are  buried. Families come together to tidy up and decorate these grave sites lavishly .

I meet a woman whose sister's baby died in 2017

On this day, November 1^st, the children who have died young are especially remembered.  It’s called Dia de los Muertos Ninos.

Fresh paint is applied and flowers especially marigolds festoon the site. Food is offered.  Pictures and favorite toys for children and other mementos for adults stir story-telling. Religious symbols abound along with colorful streamers and other bright decorations. Each grave site becomes an artistic creation.

Special foods and marigolds

Time at the graveside is not maudlin. Rather than deny death or grieve endlessly, Mexican people have a culture of celebrating the lives of loved ones by enjoying favorite foods, telling funny stories, singing beloved songs and just having a good time. 

It’s as if the departed has returned for a day and the whole family turns out for the picnic.  

Can you see the marigolds leading the way?  Welcome home! 

I go from the cemetery to a special showing of the award winning movie, Coco. It tells the story of a boy who on the Day of the Dead enters the fanciful Land of the Dead in search of his Great Great Grandfather, a legendary singer. 

Living and deceased reunited in forgiveness

Through twists and turns the story unfolds and an appreciation of the meaning of family and Day of the Dead deepens. I recommend it.

In popular North American thinking, Day of the Dead is often seen as a chance for grown-ups to paint faces in ghoulish caricature. Perhaps fun, but not much more.

Mexican culture is different. Historians say Day of the Dead is rooted within indigenous culture – Aztec, Myan and others. With the coming of the Spaniards in the 16^th century, the Church tried to ban it as pagan sacrilege. But they failed. The best they could do was attach All Saints and All Souls Day and make peace with Day of the Dead.

My friend, Beto, and I greet one another

So even through times of oppression and revolution and all sorts of discord, Day of the Dead remains a cultural bulwark. 

Deep in the Mexican spirit is pride in family and community connections that transcend death with unending love from generation to generation. 

To learn more, check out this link

A marvelous sight

Altars or Ofrendas are built in homes and around the walkways of the Central Plaza. 

On the ground, artistic talent creates intricate patterns. Using flower pedals (especially marigolds) and what looks like colored sawdust, they work for hours to honor the family, living and dead.  

My new friend tells me about his family

I meet a man on the Plaza who was born here and now lives in San Francisco. Yet, he still returns to Ajijic to greets long-time friends at the Ofrenda of his family. 

Even with me, a stranger, he tells stories of his mother and grandparents. I’m touched deeply.

Like Coco reminds us, family is most important. Always celebrate your ancestors.

Beautiful designs, but only for a day

Honoring the young

Just having a beer

My friend and I cozy up to Catrina

Of course, there are ghoulish figures in this celebration, but they have a deeper meaning than our North American Halloween.

These larger than life skeletal figures are called Catrinas and originated during the late 19^th century, a period of class domination.

Posing just for us

Posada, a print maker,  was distressed by the rabid corruption and inequality of his era. 

So he created an image of an extravagantly dressed skeleton. It became a dramatic social leveler.  It spoofed upper class excess and haughtiness reminding them and everyone that in the end all humans – rich or poor - become naked bones.

Later Catrina was embellished by the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. He incorporated the image in his famous mural Sueño de una tarde dominical en La Alameda Central.

See Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park here.

Over time, Catrina lost much of its social commentary, but it remains a reminder of human equality…not ghoulish Halloween.

It's true.  We all turn into bones. And from what I am seeing during Day of the Dead, Mexican people love their bones and the families they belong to.

It’s getting late, but around the corner from the Plaza is a spectacular display.

A part of the Wall of the Dead for the Living

Local artist Efren Gonzales has created a mural of bas-relief skulls attached to the outside of a long wall at a local school.  It stretches for nearly a block.

Once a year candles are lite

Each skull is named for an local resident, who has died , but is still remembered

So many everyday people

According to the artist, the idea is to "honor ordinary folks" and bring them closer to the living generation. 

So if you were to join me in passing along this wall some morning, you would likely hear children playing within the school yard and skulls looking forward in silent pleasure.

So as night grows deeper, candles are lit on the grave sites at the cemetery.  People view the  Ofrendas displayed on Ajijic Plaza. 

And I pause at several to say prayers and also remember my own family and ancestors. 

Maybe, they too have been lured by families remembering them, the marigolds and the carpet of beautiful images.  

Maybe they are joining with Mexican brothers and sisters in this grand celebration. I like to think that they are....

 It gives me a sweet smile to feel….We all are living into the Day of the Dead.

A WAKE-UP EXPLOSION

It’s 5:00 am and I’m in a deep peaceful sleep.

Suddenly, a volley of explosions pierce my dreams. I look up at the skylight above my bed. Flashes of light cut through the early morning darkness. Each explosion, in rapid succession, startles. and yes, scares me.

My mind searches for explanations. What’s happening? A snippet of the Star Spangle Banner - “the bombs bursting in air.” brings an uneasy feeling. 

Each blast is so loud and direct. I feel vibrations across my skin. Is this what an invasion feels like?

I live about a half block from the Church.  Its tower houses several levels of bells ...all sizes.  

In the midst of the explosions, they start clanging  their cacophony demanding attention. 

I peek out my window. But all I see are a few early morning risers strolling down the narrow street oblivious of the sound and furry.

Puzzling….Explosions and church bells in the pre-dawn of Ajijic, Mexico.

Later, I learn that the hullabaloo marks the beginning of a month long celebration. October is a month devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary. 

La Virgin del Rosario is represented by a small antique statue of Mary holding baby Jesus. Here in Ajijic, she occupies a special chapel on the edge of the Main Plaza.

But during October, she goes traveling.  

Strong shoulders carry her into the neighboring town of San Antonio Tlayacapan and then the various parishes around Ajijic. 

 Wherever she goes, the faithful follow.  While only a statue, she's engaging the people.

Each dawn at 5 am, a blast of skyrockets and bells call people to mass.  

I know because it's becoming a kind of jarring alarm for me. I glance at my clock...”Yup, it’s 5:00 am.” Damn or is there more….?

I’m told that the skyrockets have a double meaning. 

For sure they wake up people, but it’s said that they also alert the angels that prayers and devotion are soon to be flooding the heavens.

Strange isn’t it? When we begin to change the way we think about things, those same things change. 

Now when I’m jarred awake by explosions and bells, I gravitate towards meditation.  My mind asks, “Are you woke...In whom do you live and die and have your being?"

Yes, I’ve grown to appreciate my “alarm” in these noisy pre-dawns of October in Ajijic. 

Sure it’s jarring, but maybe that’s the point because it's reminding people of the good stuff - kindness, forgiveness, and justice towards all creation.  It's a way to center in the beauty and wonder of living.  Now that's a pretty good way to start a day.

*****

Here’s a charming and thoughtful story about a woman’s life in 1946 Ajijic. It references our Lady of the Rosary and can still echo in our modern times. I think you'll enjoy a read.

WHY GLOBUS

If I mention that I’m going to live in Mexico for 3 months, a lot of people see dark images in their imagination. Fear-mongering does have its affect. 

But for today, go with me and take a glimpse into the Mexican life I’m discovering.

See, bright colored tissue paper, which come all the way from China, transformed by artistic culture. 

It’s the Regatta de Globus. 

Every September, thousands of people come to see hundreds of Globi fill the skies. They are huge paper balloons handcrafted to the delight of all. I’m fortunate to be here.

For weeks, extended family and community teams have been fashioning their unique designs. Each team will create more than 20 to be launched into the skies. 

They come in all shapes and sizes – round cylinders, long tubes, heart shapes, cartoon characters, and more. No two are alike.

The designs are striking.  They causes me to think, “How did they do that?”

The answer comes through cooperation carefully following the template and pasting the pieces together. 

Notice the man fanning air into the balloon.

Slowly over weeks of work, the design emerges.

On Festival day one by one, they fill the Globus with hot air thanks to many hands and a blow torch. 

 At the last moment, a kerosene doughnut is inserted and lit to keep the hot air going as the Globus is launched.
  

Wonderful!

But maybe the more Interesting question is not how did they do it but, why. 

Why do they do launch so many Globus year after year? From all that I can determine, it’s not a competition. There’s no big prize money. The artistic creations are not sold.

Some will soar disappearing over mountain ridge as specks while others will quickly abort into fire and ashes.

Excitement:  A beer bottle strikes electrical lines in a flash

 Tissue paper can burn fast when the winds twist the fancy creation or the design is not as stable as hoped for.   Either way, all this work is soon gone. My Yankee mind keeps asking, “What’s the purpose.”

For sure, a Globus brings people together. Imagine hands cutting paper and exactly joining the pieces together.

I love this team

See the pride in the faces of men and women, boys and girls of all ages as they work together. Young kids and teenagers too are learning just as the older ones did before them. 

I’m impressed with the strength of families and community. Grandparents sit smiling with broad approval. There’s so much joy here. This is Ajijic, Mexico.

Mauricio Higuera is President of the Globeros Committee. He’s quoted as saying, the transformation of paper into the form of a balloon “is realizing how with something as fragile as paper, you can build something so big and beautiful and apart (from that) it flies.”

This team proclaims the message
Globos of paper from China 

He continues, “It’s a way of to show the skills of the people. It’s a way to show culture.”

This artistic expression shown by Globus is a source of pride and recognition of the creative spirit that lives here in Ajijic, Mexico.

I want to see it all. I make my way to the Futbal Field on the east side of town. 

I’m becoming more accustomed to long walks. Good for health and weight….they say. 

Typical homes and cobble stone streets

I pass block houses, many of which are painted with bright colors. 

Often extended families live here although some are being gentrified by gringos.

In the distance I see my first Globus. I quicken my pace not knowing that there will be so many more to appreciate. 

 Here’s what I see….

A beautiful Easter cross is launched
but winds cause it to tumble and burn

You gotta notice the children

Sponge Bob in all his glory.  However he'll soon twist, turn and burn 

Crowds were among the largest 

A team effort to launch

Peanut vendor offers snacks

Street vendors feed the hungry crowd.  

Now I’m beginning to understand why there’s a Regatta de Globus. 

It’s a day for fun and celebration…for community love and pride...for the creativity and art in the Mexican soul…and to see how paper, coming all the way from China, can be transformed and fly into the Mexican sky.

Next time, someone fear-mongers Mexico, remember and tell them about the Regatta de Globus in all its colorful and human wonders.

JOY in MARIACHI

I’ve returned to Mexico. For the next three months, Ajijic on Lake Chapala will be home. I’ve come here to teach some English, grow as an artist and meet others while exploring the Mexican culture.

I’m about an hour’s drive form Guadalajara in the Mexican State of Jalisco (in light green). It’s dominated by Mexico's biggest mountain range -the Sierra Madre - and a volcanic range creating many canyons, gorges and plateaus.  

At the end of the rainy season, the burnt brown mountains have transformed into deep tones of green and new life.  

Jalisco is known as the heart and soul of Mexico.  Here a rich culture of music and dance and art developed.  

Ever changing and adapting, it has retained a distinctive Mexican flair and swagger.

On my flight I happen to sit next to and behind a group of Mariachis. They are on their way to the International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara.

We get to talking. My seat-mate was born in the USA, but as a young man immigrated back to Mexico to live and thrive. 

I ask him, “Why Mariachi besides the income? Quickly he says, “It’s my passion...identity...life.” I want to learn more...

Mariachi emerged out of the long history  of Mexico's conquest, occupation and rebirth. 

Indigenous people were overwhelmed by Spanish conquest in the 1500s. Then so many foreign ships sailed westward.  For more than 300 years, European and African immigrants flooded the land bringing their own cultures.

In the Jalisco area, elements from immigrant cultures were blended into a unique Mexican sound - Mariachi. 

These songs were part of village life and almost always accompanied by dancing and lots of love and good humor. The children learned the old songs on the laps of parents.  Over time the music adapted to new living situations - always staying fresh and lively.  

I’m beginning to understand the depth of Mariachi and why my seat-mate has such a passion for it.

Mariachi exploded from Jalisco to the entire Country in the 20^th century. With the help of mass media – radio and TV – people fell in love with it. 

 Even without knowing the language, I feel it.  Mariachi exudes energy, culture and style. It brings joy.

To learn a lot more click here   

I’m indebted to Mike Champa of Miami University, Ohio for his study and giving me a deeper understanding.

With my new group of Mariachi friends, we exit the plane. We hang together through immigration and customs procedures. Then they help me negotiate a good price for a taxi.  Wonderful!

With gratitude – Gracias – I’m on my way. My mind is already planning a trip back to Guadalajara and the Mariachi Festival.

Here’s a sampling of what I experience during this joyful parade.

Improvised dress turns heads

Let the parade begin

Music and dance fill the streets

Singing from the heart

Friendship is contagious

Mariachi from Estados Unidos

Beautiful and Proud

Listen to some more Mariachi  Feel the joy...