In the midst of life .....

[bixaorellana]

The old cemetery that we just visited has not been used for burials since the 1970s. Now we'll visit the big Xoxo cemetery on a hill above town. This is my favorite time to see the cemeteries, when people are fixing them up for the yearly visit of their deceased loved ones.







Two "self-decorated" graves ~







The last decorations for little Ana Gabriela have suffered in all the recent rain. Time for new ones!

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Tod! Isn't it amazing the effects they achieve with what seem like such crude tools?!

A group effort here ~


And some solitary work here ~


















As we leave the cemetery, these two gentleman enter. Through November 2nd, there will be strolling musicians in all the graveyards, offering their services to those who wish to serenade their dead.

[lagatta]

Tod, you will also find syncretism of African and Christian beliefs and religious rituals in New Orleans, familiar to Bixa and Casimira, as well as in Cuba and Haiti, of course. And in some places, syncretism of African, Amerindian and Christian in the Americas.

In our far North, there is a lot of shamanism in Church ceremonies. Though there are fundamentalist evangelical groups in many of these places that try to discourage anything "Native".

I liked the chickens too. They were morbidly comical, but they also looked like they would be tasty; not those pasty industrial chickens. Also liked the old script, of a type I've often seen in vintage Mexican and other Latin American printing, signs and posters, on the grave of the dead teenager.

There are a lot of attractive older people - without benefit of Botox.

[Deleted]

I'm loving the photos as much as every year, but I find there is a certain discrepancy in the upkeep of the cemeteries. Lots of people seem to do outstanding things every year for Muertos and yet most of the tombs themselves are quite shabby as though only the yearly display counts and not how the graves look at any other time of the year. I know that a lot of our European based cultures can be quite superficial on subjects like this, but most of the tombs with sufficient family members are regularly cleaned, polished, repainted, weeded, etc. all through the year. I myself am paying 200€ a year for someone to look after the family tombs in Lorraine and to put flowers on the tombs at Easter and All Saints Day, since I can't really take care of all of that myself. Of course, once I am gone, the tombs will be abandoned.

[bixaorellana]

LaGatta, even more "natural" chickens can be found. You ask for criollos & you'll get rather hefty specimens without that bright yellow color.
You'd probably enjoy spotting all the signs that we're used to seeing pre-manufactured and provided by the company that here are hand-painted instead. For instance, the classic Coca-Cola bottle with its iconic script rendered in the exact correct colors complete down to the beads of condensation on the bottle.

Kerouac, I'm glad you brought that up about upkeep of the graves. It used to horrify me when I saw the complete neglect that was so obvious months after day of the dead. Then it hit me: of course no one bothers keeping the burial site nice since there is no one there. It's really rather lovely -- fix up the graves on the one day of the year that the dead will be dropping by at the last place you were with them in the earthly realm. They're not in the ground, so there's no reason to keep that spot spiffy.
To bring that point home, please notice the many graves with more than one cross or marker. That's because family members are buried in that same grave as their times come. I attended a funeral where a man holding a small cloth bag was standing at foot of the open grave awaiting his deceased uncle. The bag contained what was left of the man's mother -- the uncle's sister. Her remains were gathered up when the grave was opened to receive the uncle's casket, then the bag set atop the casket before shoveling the dirt back in. It's not only pragmatic, it's an acknowledgement that our consciousness doesn't remain trapped in our mortal bodies.

[bixaorellana]

Well, moving right along, here we are at the evening of the 31st. We'd gone to eat after the last cemetery visit, then I went home to feed my dogs & put on warmer clothes. Since Mexico set the clocks back on the 27th, it's been getting twilighty at around 5 o'clock, as you'll see by the blue light in the photos. Ironically, some of the later pictures are better lit since by that time lights had been turned on.

Let's just plunge into the crowd building in front of Sto. Domingo ::

                     

[bixaorellana]

[bixaorellana]

[bixaorellana]

One of the reasons we were hanging around here was to the see the video projections scheduled to be beamed upon Sto. Domingo on the 31st & the 1st. There were to be several showings both here & on the church of La Soledad. I was eager, but wound up not seeing it. I've looked at the youtube video & it was not nearly as impressive as the one done one Christmas on the cathedral. That's not just sour grapes. (Okay, maybe a little bit.) I got too cold the first night. The second night I had a prime position, but the show was to be delayed for at least an hour due to a wedding taking place inside Sto. Domingo.(!) Not willing to wait nor to push through the crowds to La Soledad, I prudently & rather gratefully went home.


The teaser which would periodically appear on the church facade ~

[bixaorellana]

The street became steadily more crowded. I lost the people I was with & gave up on finding someone else with whom I was to rendezvous. As I moved along, trying to get pictures in the swirling mass of people and the bad light, I ran into another friend. We swam against the tide toward the zócalo, with the intention of making the circuit & returning to Sto. Domingo for the video projection.

This is on Alcala at the back of the cathedral, in a rare less-crowded space:


Again pushing through a throng ~






This guy & everyone else can stay and have fun. I'm going home!

Please check back later for events of November 1st, All Saints Day.

[Deleted]

Especially the little children are just too creepy. I'm sure there is a horror movie hidden in their appearance somewhere.

[htmb]

Fantastic photos, Bixa, particularly of the kiddies, but I'm sure I'd need a quiet room and a large glass of bourbon on the rocks after facing up to the last bit.

[nycgirl]

Terrific report, as usual! Those little kids are too cute (even if the macabre costumes give me the creeps). And as always, I love looking at all the colorful, exquisitely embroidered local dresses.

[questa]

What everyone else has said, Bixa...a stunning display.It seems to me that the people take on the old demon Death and beat it on its own ground. No-one appeared very sad or afraid (except skelo-dog and a couple of littlies).

Maybe this is how they say

"Death where is thy sting,
Where, grave, thy victory?" ...... and mean it!

[Deleted]

You really outdid yourself in this years coverage Bixa.

I have to say that the cemetery shots and the back of the cathedral in this last sequence were my favorites.
I loved seeing the people, the children, but, the reverence and homage to to the overall symbolism of the holiday/feast gave me a more appreciative reaction.

Thank you ever so much for your dedication and intrepid reporting on this annual tradition once again.

[bixaorellana]

Many, many thanks to all of you!

Htmb, a lucky quirk of my temperament is that I'm not bothered by crowds. Still, I was more than ready to retire home to my housecoat & let them have their fun.

Questa, you really "get" it! I think Mexicans distinguish themselves by the fact that they have accepted and internalized the fact that death really and truly comes to all of us, but that we carry on in this life regardless.

Awww, Casimira -- I really appreciate that! I hope you continue to feel that way once you see what's coming.
I have tons more pictures, despite furious culling. I apologize for being so late in putting them up, but have not been feeling well. Let's see if I can finally wrap up this thread tonight.

On Saturday, November first -- All Saints Day -- we paid a visit to the big Oaxacan municipal cemetery during the day so we could watch the graves being decorated as we did in Xoxo.

This next group of pictures is for the die-hard lovers of graveyards, so get your scrolling finger ready & let's go ~~

[bixaorellana]

This altar was right inside the main gate, next to the office. I said to a young woman putting on the finishing touches, "Oh how nice -- this is to honor the cemetery workers." She smiled & pointed to the writing on the awning of the pavilion, and said "No, it's from a construction supply company." Then, being a polite person, she said, "But it could be for that, too!"


Look at that nice big piece of bread in the middle!




This sand painting was just inside the entrance:


And there she was amongst the mourners and musicians, the evil dengue mosquito:

[bixaorellana]

Ohhh, my head. Why don't I know when to quit?!

This was a lovely thing. Here is the roof:


A side view:


And a picture taken from the bench facing the tomb, where I sat & enjoyed the lovely flower scents:

[bixaorellana]

Some Oaxacan tin work:

Okay, this is weird -- it wasn't until I looked at this picture off the camera that I realized I'd photographed the grave of someone I knew!




You know how it is -- there you are, walking through the graveyard, when you just have to have some cotton candy.

Look what a great face Mamita had!

[bixaorellana]

Back in this section there seemed to be many more graves with multiple markers on them.














This was interesting: there were two cops standing around when I took this picture, so I asked them what they thought of the display. They both wrinkled up their noses and said they thought it wasn't appropriate to the traditions and sentiments of day of the dead.

[htmb]

Absolutely fascinating and brilliantly presented, Bixa. This thread is quite a masterpiece of color and I certainly feel more informed about traditions that were not all that clear to me.

I'm interested to know if the Church sanctions the costumes and things such as cotton candy and mosquito outfits in the cemeteries. Are there any religious types of processions with Church participation?

[bixaorellana]

Thank you so much, Htmb! Hope I'm not overwhelming everyone. ]

"I slipped away from heaven for a little while in order to come give you a hug."

Passing over into the older section. It's surrounded by galleries with grave niches set into the walls.

[bixaorellana]

We are now in the space enclosed by the old ruined chapel in the middle of this section of the cemetery.


That's where I came across this little memorial lovingly placed at the base of one of the walls:


This was a couple of feet away:

The memorial to the forgotten dead:

And now it's time to go outside into the world of the living again. Please check back here, though, as there is still a little bit more to show.

[bixaorellana]

Nov 4, 2014 3:11:36 GMT htmb said:

Absolutely fascinating and brilliantly presented, Bixa. This thread is quite a masterpiece of color and I certainly feel more informed about traditions that were not all that clear to me.

I'm interested to know if the Church sanctions the costumes and things such as cotton candy and mosquito outfits in the cemeteries. Are there any religious types of processions with Church participation?

Sorry, Htmb. I saw your post at #80 as I was concentrating on making #81 & failed to answer you fully after thanking you. (& thank you again!)

The cemetery is owned by the municipality, so the Church has no say over the goings on. I have reported previously on the nighttime celebration in this cemetery, which has a party atmosphere, with music and refreshments all provided by the municipality. I'd be curious to know what kind of an atmosphere prevailed in the past in those parts of the world where the tradition of staying through the night at the graveyard for All Saints Day was observed.

I suspect a priest might bless the proceedings before they get under way, but don't know for sure. When I attended the Oct. 31 night event at the Nazareno Xoxo cemetery, it was preceded by a Mass.

[lola]

Just enchanting, bixa. My favorite time of the year is your Day of the Dead report. Thank you so much.

[bixaorellana]

*bask* What a lovely thing to say, Lola! Thank you so much.

Well, we're heading into the final stretch here, if you all can stand a little more.

The whole big area in front of the cemetery has been turned into a fair,
with food, games, rides, and lots of flowers for sale:

[bixaorellana]

Overruled in my desire to feast on gorditas & other fair food, I return with the others back to the center of town.

At the park, we run into this fine fellow, surely some kind of super hero:




A peek into the botanical garden as we pass the window cut into its wall:


This must have been done by the jewelry vendors who have their booths here:




And here we are again in front of Santo Domingo:

[bixaorellana]

At this point I decide to head home to feed & walk the dogs, then put on warmer clothes & return to the plaza.

That's when I run smack into this comparsa promoting a political candidate:

[bixaorellana]

No sooner does the horse & donkey brigade pass me, than I run into yet another comparsa. Incidentally, all day long you could hear the bands and noise as different comparsas paraded all around the streets of downtown.

[Deleted]

It is certainly a much healthier attitude concerning death than in a lot of countries. It is considerably more appealing to think that the dead can have a non stop fiesta with music and food rather than sitting around playing harps on top of clouds. I was wondering if the evil mosquito was there to transmit dengue or chikungunya to the living.

So much effort goes into decorating some of the tombs that I was wondering if there is an official contest with a prize for best gravesite. You may have already answered this question in past reports, but I have forgotten.