casa mexicana

casa mexicana is a shop in dallas that sells mexican folk art. through the month of october they are having presentations on the weekend about the days of the dead, a mexican holiday celebrated on nov. 1 and nov. 2. they had handouts etc. which i will steal from, to describe the event.

....on these 2 days... the dead spirts return to their homes to eat and drink with loved ones. the dead are not to be forgotten at this time.... on the altar... are gifts for the departed...

...death was just another cycle of life and was considered a journey that everyone must travel. just as day followed night and spring followed winter, so the continuity of life followed death....

...the mexican learns about death at a very early age. death is portrayed... usually with humor... death may be a sugar skull with your name on it or a paper mache female skeleton laughing and dancing. because death is with them the moment they are born, it is the mexican's way of showing that they are not afraid of death and accept it as part of life. it is also the artist's way to remind people that we are all the same in death....to some these practices may, at first seem grotesque. but, on reflection, many find it a very healthy way of looking at something that touches everyone.

thus the skeleton is not a grim figure to be feared, but rather a humorous presence reminding us that along with life comes death and along with death comes life.