Most of us know what day it is today...it's three days before my birthday! haha! Nah, I'm just kidding...it's El Día de Los Muertos or The Day of the Dead. Although it does sound a bit dreadful, it actually is a very spiritual celebration. It's mostly acknowledged to be Mexican because it started with the Aztec and Mayan tribes, as a day that would celebrate the memory of their ancestors by paying tribute to the goddess of death. Now-a-days, people gather on this day to celebrate a loved one who has passed away, in a colorful and joyous manner. The prevalent symbolisms we see this day are in the bright colors, flowers, candy, music and food used to decorate altars or worn around in the streets.
I first intended to go to the Mexican Cultural House here in Costa Rica and take some pictures and then upload them, mostly because it sounded like a fun thing to do AND there would be food to taste which would have been awesome. However, because of -mostly- my mother, I couldn't attend and now I'm left wondering.
So I decided to give this post a bit of a twist. What has really caught my eye in this beautiful celebration, is not really the celebration of a loved one (one should celebrate this everyday- just like Valentine's: everyday should be written in the name of love) but the use of imagery and color. A few weeks ago I had seen this article on a Volkswagen Beetle commisioned by the Association of Friends of Museo of Arte Popular in Mexico City to promote the work of artisans both national and internationally.
Just like El Día de los Muertos, the purpose of "El Vochol" -how the Beetle was nicknamed- was to tell the world that the indigenous work should not be forgotten, but in fact it should be celebrated.