To the foreign gaze, the Day of the Dead and the use of skulls as a symbol of this celebration may cause fear, even arouse suspicion toward Mexican culture. Yet beneath the surface, it is simply another way of embracing death. Instead of bitterness, "the Mexican laughs with death, gives it form, and turns it into an ideal" (Guerrero Aguilar, A. 1998: 8).
We can embrace the Mesoamerican vision of death, which is perceived as just another part of existence rather than its end. In this way, the Day of the Dead becomes a celebration of life and the love we feel for those crossing into another spiritual realm. However, the Day of the Dead is not purely an indigenous celebration; it is a Mexican one, meaning that European elements and influences are woven into the visual culture and customs surrounding the festivity.
“La Catrina,” for example, both mocks and beautifies death, with her skull-like face adorned with colorful patterns. Additionally, Ariosto Rivera incorporates the use of golden metals in their artwork. Gold, used for centuries in European art traditions to represent the divine, the eternal, and the immaterial, fits seamlessly into Rivera's representations of this festive day. In this way, though the Day of the Dead humorously parodies death, it does not lack respect for this inevitable life event or for the dead, who are honored, remembered, and celebrated during these days.
To the foreign gaze, the Day of the Dead and the use of skulls as a symbol of this celebration may cause fear, even arouse suspicion toward Mexican culture. Yet beneath the surface, it is simply another way of embracing death. Instead of bitterness, "the Mexican laughs with death, gives it form, and turns it into an ideal" (Guerrero Aguilar, A. 1998: 8).
We can embrace the Mesoamerican vision of death, which is perceived as just another part of existence rather than its end. In this way, the Day of the Dead becomes a celebration of life and the love we feel for those crossing into another spiritual realm. However, the Day of the Dead is not purely an indigenous celebration; it is a Mexican one, meaning that European elements and influences are woven into the visual culture and customs surrounding the festivity.
“La Catrina,” for example, both mocks and beautifies death, with her skull-like face adorned with colorful patterns. Additionally, Ariosto Rivera incorporates the use of golden metals in their artwork. Gold, used for centuries in European art traditions to represent the divine, the eternal, and the immaterial, fits seamlessly into Rivera's representations of this festive day. In this way, though the Day of the Dead humorously parodies death, it does not lack respect for this inevitable life event or for the dead, who are honored, remembered, and celebrated during these days.
To the foreign gaze, the Day of the Dead and the use of skulls as a symbol of this celebration may cause fear, even arouse suspicion toward Mexican culture. Yet beneath the surface, it is simply another way of embracing death. Instead of bitterness, "the Mexican laughs with death, gives it form, and turns it into an ideal" (Guerrero Aguilar, A. 1998: 8).
We can embrace the Mesoamerican vision of death, which is perceived as just another part of existence rather than its end. In this way, the Day of the Dead becomes a celebration of life and the love we feel for those crossing into another spiritual realm. However, the Day of the Dead is not purely an indigenous celebration; it is a Mexican one, meaning that European elements and influences are woven into the visual culture and customs surrounding the festivity.
“La Catrina,” for example, both mocks and beautifies death, with her skull-like face adorned with colorful patterns. Additionally, Ariosto Rivera incorporates the use of golden metals in their artwork. Gold, used for centuries in European art traditions to represent the divine, the eternal, and the immaterial, fits seamlessly into Rivera's representations of this festive day. In this way, though the Day of the Dead humorously parodies death, it does not lack respect for this inevitable life event or for the dead, who are honored, remembered, and celebrated during these days.
