More for Day of the Dead

Alejandro sent me several videos about Day of the Dead, and I am going to share some of them with you.

Although the first one is all in Spanish, I think you can appreciate the celebrations that are held in the Huasteca region of the state of Veracruz.  There it is believed that Death pursues the souls when they return to the world of the living on the Day of the Dead.  The souls take refuge within the bodies of the living, and the living wear masks so as to hide the souls from Death.

The next video shows pictures of the Day of the Dead observances from various parts of Mexico.

The third video deals with La Catrina, the elegantly dressed skeleton that has become an icon of the Day of the Dead.  The engraving of La Catrina was created in the early 20th century by the printmaker and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada to poke fun of Mexicans who copied the latest Paris fashions.  La Catrina was popularized decades later when the painter Diego Rivera used the image in his famous mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Central Alameda".   The elegant skeleton takes center stage in the painting standing between Posada and Diego as a young boy.

Now La Catrina is an indelible part of Mexican culture and is ubiquitous, especially during this time of year.