[NEohioPAL]Day of Dead (Dia de la Muertos) Exhibition

Mon Oct 10 08:49:54 PDT 2005

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Greetings,

WHO:  Standing Rock Cultural Arts

WHAT: Third Annual =B3Day of the Dead=B2 Art Exhibit
-masks, paintings, puppets, drawings, and sculpture by Vince Packard, Larry
McFarland, J. Edwards Gemind, Annette E. Padilla,
Lynn Dewart and more...
-coinciding with Kent=B9s Annual Halloween parade throughout downtown.
=20
WHEN:  October 29 - November 26
-Opening Reception:  Saturday, October 29, 8pm- midnight.
-music, food, & fun
=20
WHERE:  North Water Street Gallery, 257 N. Water St., Kent

CONTACT:  330-673-4970

GALLERY HOURS:  Thursday-Saturday, 1-5pm or by appointment

This exhibition is a celebration of the Hispanic holiday which occurs on
November 1st and November 2nd every year to honor the ancestors who have
passed on from this earth.  Vince Packard is testing out his skills as a
large scale puppeteer this year as well as curating a few contemporary
artists from across the country.  He=B9ll have a few masks available as well.
Come see what surprises Vince has in store.

Vince Packard:  cannibol.com
Annette E. Padilla:  www.blackstitchartstudio.com
Lynn Dewart:  www.lynndewart.com
Larry McFarland:  LarryMcFarland.com
J. Edwards Gemind:  http://www.artistchair.com/showprofile.asp?id=3D166

 www.standingrock.net for updates

Thank you for supporting the Arts,

Jeff Ingram/Executive Director
Standing Rock Cultural Arts
257 N. Water St.
Kent, OH 44240
330-673-4970
info at standingrock.net

What do Mexicans celebrate on the "Day of the Dead?"

Ricardo J. Salvador
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To cite this article in print please use the following: Salvador, R. J.
(2003). What Do Mexicans Celebrate On The Day Of The Dead? Pp. 75-76, IN
Death And Bereavement In The Americas. Death, Value And Meaning Series, Vol=
.
II. Morgan, J. D. And P. Laungani (Eds.) Baywood Publishing Co., Amityville=
,
New York. Available online at:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad/scmfaq/muertos.html.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daybreak in the graveyard of Mazatl=E1n de Flores, Oaxaca. Photography:
Lourdes Grobet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an ancient festivity that has been much transformed through the
years, but which was intended in prehispanic Mexico to celebrate children
and the dead. Hence, the best way to describe this Mexican holiday is to sa=
y
that it is a time when Mexican families remember their dead, and the
continuity of life.

Two important things to know about the Mexican Day of the Dead (D=EDa de los
Muertos) are:

1.    It is a holiday with a complex history, and therefore its observance
varies quite a bit by region and by degree of urbanization.
2.    It is not a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time.

The original celebration can be traced to many Mesoamerican native
traditions, such as the festivities held during the Aztec month of
Miccailhuitontli, ritually presided by the "Lady of the Dead"
(Mictecacihuatl), and dedicated to children and the dead. In the Aztec
calendar, this ritual fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of Jul=
y
and the beginning of August, but in the postconquest era it was moved by
Spanish priests so that it coincided with the Christian holiday of All
Hallows Eve (in Spanish: "D=EDa de Todos Santos.") This was a vain effort to
transform the observance from a profane to a Christian celebration. The
result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first
two days of November, rather than at the beginning of summer. But remember
the dead they still do, and the modern festivity is characterized by the
traditional Mexican blend of ancient aboriginal and introduced Christian
features.

Generalizing broadly, the holiday's activities consist of families (1)
welcoming their dead back into their homes, and (2) visiting the graves of
their close kin. At the cemetery, family members engage in sprucing up the
gravesite, decorating it with flowers, setting out and enjoying a picnic,
and interacting socially with other family and community members who gather
there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of the dead return
and are all around them. Families remember the departed by telling stories
about them. The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuous, usually
featuring meat dishes in spicy sauces, chocolate beverages, cookies, sugary
confections in a variety of animal or skull shapes, and a special egg-batte=
r
bread ("pan de muerto," or bread of the dead). Gravesites and family altars
are profusely decorated with flowers (primarily large, bright flowers such
as marigolds and chrysanthemums), and adorned with religious amulets and
with offerings of food, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Because of this
warm social environment, the colorful setting, and the abundance of food,
drink and good company, this commemoration of the dead has pleasant
overtones for the observers, in spite of the open fatalism exhibited by all
participants, whose festive interaction with both the living and the dead i=
n
an important social ritual is a way of recognizing the cycle of life and
death that is human existence.
Altar in a home of the Nahuatl village of Milpa Alta. Photography: Lourdes
Grobet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

In homes observant families create an altar and decorate it with items that
they believe are beautiful and attractive to the souls of their departed
ones. Such items include offerings of flowers and food, but also things tha=
t
will remind the living of the departed (such as their photographs, a
diploma, or an article of clothing), and the things that the dead prized an=
d
enjoyed while they lived. This is done to entice the dead and assure that
their souls actually return to take part in the remembrance. In very
traditional settings, typically found only in native communities, the path
from the street to the altar is actually strewn with petals to guide the
returning soul to its altar and the bosom of the family.The traditional
observance calls for departed children to be remembered during the first da=
y
of the festivity (the Day of the Little Angels, "D=EDa de los Angelitos"), an=
d
for adults to be remembered on the second day. Traditionally, this is
accompanied by a feast during the early morning hours of November the 2nd,
the Day of the Dead proper, though modern urban Mexican families usually
observe the Day of the Dead with only a special family supper featuring the
bread of the dead. In southern Mexico, for example in the city of Puebla, i=
t
is good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidden b=
y
the baker in each rounded loaf. Friends and family members give one another
gifts consisting of sugar skeletons or other items with a death motif, and
the gift is more prized if the skull or skeleton is embossed with one's own
name. Another variation found in the state of Oaxaca is for bread to be
molded into the shape of a body or burial wrap, and for a face to be
embedded on one end of the loaf. During the days leading up to and followin=
g
the festivity, some bakeries in heavily aboriginal communities cease
producing the wide range of breads that they typically sell so that they ca=
n
focus on satisfying the demand for bread of the dead.
Preparing offerings on the eve of the first of November in Ihuatzio,
Michoac=E1n. Photography: Lourdes Grobet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Day of the Dead can range from being a very important cultural event,
with defined social and economic responsibilities for participants
(exhibiting the socially equalizing behavior that social anthropologists
would call redistributive feasting, e.g. on the island of Janitzio in
Michoacan state), to being a religious observance featuring actual worship
of the dead (e.g., as in Cuilapan, Oaxaca, an ancient capital of the Zapote=
c
people, who venerated their ancestors and whose descendants do so to this
day, an example of many traditional practices that Spanish priests pretend
not to notice), to simply being a uniquely Mexican holiday characterized by
special foods and confections (the case in all large Mexican cities.)
In general, the more urban the setting within Mexico the less religious and
cultural importance is retained by observants, while the more rural and
Indian the locality the greater the religious and economic import of the
holiday. Because of this, this observance is usually of greater social
importance in southern Mexico than in the northern part of the country.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------

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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Day of Dead (Dia de la Muertos) Exhibition</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<B>Greetings,<BR>
<BR>
</B><FONT FACE=3D"Helvetica"><H2>WHO:  Standing Rock Cultural Arts<BR>
<BR>
WHAT: Third Annual =B3Day of the Dead=B2 Art Exhibit<BR>
</H2><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><B>-masks, </B></FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3D"4">paintings, pupp=
ets, drawings, and sculpture by Vince Packard, Larry McFarland, J. Edwards G=
emind, Annette E. Padilla,<BR>
Lynn Dewart and more...<BR>
-coinciding with Kent=B9s Annual Halloween parade throughout downtown.<BR>
</FONT></B><H2> <BR>
WHEN:  October 29 - November 26<BR>
</H2><H3>-Opening Reception:  Saturday, October 29, 8pm- midnight.<BR>
-music, food, & fun<BR>
</H3><H2> <BR>
WHERE:  North Water Street Gallery, 257 N. Water St., Kent<BR>
<BR>
CONTACT:  330-673-4970<BR>
<BR>
</H2><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><B>GALLERY HOURS:  Thursday-Saturday, 1-5pm </B></=
FONT><B>or by appointment<BR>
<BR>
This exhibition is a celebration of the Hispanic holiday which occurs on No=
vember 1st and November 2nd every year to honor the ancestors who have passe=
d on from this earth.  Vince Packard is testing out his skills as a lar=
ge scale puppeteer this year as well as curating a few contemporary artists =
from across the country.  He=B9ll have a few masks available as well. &nb=
sp; Come see what surprises Vince has in store.  <BR>
<BR>
Vince Packard:  cannibol.com<BR>
</B></FONT><B><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">Annette E. Padilla:  w=
ww.blackstitchartstudio.com<BR>
Lynn Dewart:  www.lynndewart.com<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Helvetica">Larry McFarland:  LarryMcFarland.=
com<BR>
J. Edwards Gemind:  http://www.artistchair.com/showprofile.asp?id=3D166<=
BR>
<BR>
</FONT></B><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000"><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman=
"> </FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><FONT FACE=3D"Helvetica"><B>www.standin=
grock.net for updates<BR>
</B></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Helvetica"><H3><BR>
Thank you for supporting the Arts,<BR>
<BR>
</H3><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><B>Jeff Ingram/Executive Director<BR>
</B></FONT><H3>Standing Rock Cultural Arts<BR>
257 N. Water St.<BR>
Kent, OH 44240<BR>
330-673-4970<BR>
<FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF"><U>info at standingrock.net<BR>
</U></FONT></H3></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000"><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Tim=
es New Roman"><BR>
<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><H1>What do Mexicans celebrate o=
n the "Day of the Dead?"<BR>
</H1><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><BR>
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT COLO=
R=3D"#0000FF">Ricardo J. Salvador<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000">----------------------------------------------=
--------------------------<BR>
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000"><FONT SIZE=3D"4"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial=
">To cite this article in print please use the following: Salvador, R. J. (2=
003). What Do Mexicans Celebrate On The Day Of The Dead? Pp. 75-76, IN Death=
 And Bereavement In The Americas. Death, Value And Meaning Series, Vol. II. =
Morgan, J. D. And P. Laungani (Eds.) Baywood Publishing Co., Amityville, New=
 York. Available online at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad/scmfaq/m=
uertos.html.<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">-----------------=
-------------------------------------------------------<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"2"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><B>Daybreak in the graveyar=
d of Mazatl=E1n de Flores, Oaxaca. Photography: Lourdes Grobet.<BR>
</B></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><H3>----------------------------------=
--------------------------------------<BR>
</H3></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">This is an ancient festivity that has been much t=
ransformed through the years, but which was intended in prehispanic Mexico t=
o celebrate children and the dead. Hence, the best way to describe this Mexi=
can holiday is to say that it is a time when Mexican families remember their=
 dead, and the continuity of life.</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> <BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">Two important things to know about the Mexican Da=
y of the Dead (D=EDa de los Muertos) are:<BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><BR>
1.    </FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">It is a holiday with a compl=
ex history, and therefore its observance varies quite a bit by region and by=
 degree of urbanization.<BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">2.    </FONT><FONT FACE=3D=
"Arial">It is not a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time. <BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">The original celebration can be traced to many Me=
soamerican native traditions, such as the festivities held during the </FONT=
></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF"><U>Az=
tec month of Miccailhuitontli</U></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000">, ritually pre=
sided by the "Lady of the Dead" (<I>Mictecacihuatl</I>), and dedic=
ated to children and the dead. In the Aztec calendar, this ritual fell rough=
ly at the end of the Gregorian month of July and the beginning of August, bu=
t in the postconquest era it was moved by Spanish priests so that it coincid=
ed with the Christian holiday of All Hallows Eve (in Spanish: "D=EDa de T=
odos Santos.") This was a vain effort to transform the observance from =
a profane to a Christian celebration. The result is that Mexicans now celebr=
ate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, rather than a=
t the beginning of summer. But remember the dead they still do, and the mode=
rn festivity is characterized by the traditional Mexican blend of ancient ab=
original and introduced Christian features.<BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">Generalizing broadly, the holiday's activities co=
nsist of families (1) welcoming their dead back into their homes, and (2) vi=
siting the graves of their close kin. At the cemetery, family members engage=
 in sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with flowers, setting out and e=
njoying a picnic, and interacting socially with other family and community m=
embers who gather there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of=
 the dead return and are all around them. Families remember the departed by =
telling stories about them. The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuo=
us, usually featuring meat dishes in spicy sauces, chocolate beverages, cook=
ies, sugary confections in a variety of animal or skull shapes, and a specia=
l egg-batter bread ("pan de muerto," or bread of the dead). Graves=
ites and family altars are profusely decorated with flowers (primarily large=
, bright flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums), and adorned with rel=
igious amulets and with offerings of food, cigarettes and alcoholic beverage=
s. Because of this warm social environment, the colorful setting, and the ab=
undance of food, drink and good company, this commemoration of the dead has =
pleasant overtones for the observers, in spite of the open fatalism exhibite=
d by all participants, whose festive interaction with both the living and th=
e dead in an important social ritual is a way of recognizing the cycle of li=
fe and death that is human existence.<BR>
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#990000"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><FONT SIZE=3D"2=
"><B>Altar in a home of the Nahuatl village of Milpa Alta. Photography: Lour=
des Grobet.<BR>
</B></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">-------------=
-----------------------------------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
I</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">n homes observant families create an altar and d=
ecorate it with items that they believe are beautiful and attractive to the =
souls of their departed ones. Such items include offerings of flowers and fo=
od, but also things that will remind the living of the departed (such as the=
ir photographs, a diploma, or an article of clothing), and the things that t=
he dead prized and enjoyed while they lived. This is done to entice the dead=
 and assure that their souls actually return to take part in the remembrance=
. In very traditional settings, typically found only in native communities, =
the path from the street to the altar is actually strewn with petals to guid=
e the returning soul to its altar and the bosom of the family.The traditiona=
l observance calls for departed children to be remembered during the first d=
ay of the festivity (the Day of the Little Angels, "D=EDa de los Angelito=
s"), and for adults to be remembered on the second day. Traditionally, =
this is accompanied by a feast during the early morning hours of November th=
e 2nd, the Day of the Dead proper, though modern urban Mexican families usua=
lly observe the Day of the Dead with only a special family supper featuring =
the bread of the dead. In southern Mexico, for example in the city of Puebla=
, it is good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidd=
en by the baker in each rounded loaf. Friends and family members give one an=
other gifts consisting of sugar skeletons or other items with a death motif,=
 and the gift is more prized if the skull or skeleton is embossed with one's=
 own name. Another variation found in the state of Oaxaca is for bread to be=
 molded into the shape of a body or burial wrap, and for a face to be embedd=
ed on one end of the loaf. During the days leading up to and following the f=
estivity, some bakeries in heavily aboriginal communities cease producing th=
e wide range of breads that they typically sell so that they can focus on sa=
tisfying the demand for bread of the dead.</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman=
"> <BR>
</FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"2"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial"><B>Preparing offerings on t=
he eve of the first of November in Ihuatzio, Michoac=E1n. Photography: Lourdes=
 Grobet.<BR>
</B></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE=3D"5"><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">-------------=
-----------------------------------------------------------<BR>
<BR>
 <BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">The Day of the Dead can range from being a very i=
mportant cultural event, with defined social and economic responsibilities f=
or participants (exhibiting the socially equalizing behavior that social ant=
hropologists would call redistributive feasting, e.g. on the island of Janit=
zio in Michoacan state), to being a religious observance featuring actual wo=
rship of the dead (e.g., as in Cuilapan, Oaxaca, an ancient capital of the Z=
apotec people, who venerated their ancestors and whose descendants do so to =
this day, an example of many traditional practices that Spanish priests pret=
end not to notice), to simply being a uniquely Mexican holiday characterized=
 by special foods and confections (the case in all large Mexican cities.) <B=
R>
In general, the more urban the setting within Mexico the less religious and=
 cultural importance is retained by observants, while the more rural and Ind=
ian the locality the greater the religious and economic import of the holida=
y. Because of this, this observance is usually of greater social importance =
in southern Mexico than in the northern part of the country.<BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">-------------------------------------------------=
-----------------------<BR>
 <BR>
------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR=
>
</FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"><BR>
</FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE=3D"Helvetica"><B><BR>
</B><H3><BR>
</H3></FONT>
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