H2Omeloncholy: Día de los Muertos

VOGUE copyright Conde Nast

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With our dear pops passing in late September, 2017, the initial anniversary that following fall of 2018, welcomed a broader map down avenues of acknowledgement. Sumthin to collective consciousness that made Día de los Muertos resonate, resulting in thy blogger's former porch display. One avoided an alter, marigold garland, facial adornment, or other rites of reverence - for all seem earned only by a lineage three thousand years deep. Allusion, then, felt more fitting than any aspect overt. Outta respect for a culture not one's own, I chose a nineteenth century guide.

Engaged one's share of research prior as one questioned if one's H2Omeloncholic ass wasn't 'appropriating' a sacred Mexican ritual. Loving what I learned. José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar (1852–1913) was a lithographer and illustrator of political satirist 'ilk' before the term existed. Coincided ideally with the Mexican Revolution. His work has become so ubiquitous, that the reader is likely unwittingly familiar:

Posada was a fellow cheeky kindred who was bravely intra-critiquing the Mexican bourgeoisie: how they would dress, midday, as a symptom of their classism.

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His ironic use of skeletons, as dapper relics, resonated as symbols for Día de los Muertos - whose observance dates back farther than when colonialism was but a 'twinkle' in Empire's ravaging eye. Tragically misunderstood my missionaries, Hallow's Eve or All Saint's Day seemed the less 'evil' or lesser 'savage' alternative encouraged in the US - preferring honoring Christian saints to the deceased family members of everyday folk - as actually intended. Highly suspicious that the elaborate marigold alters were deemed too democratic: daring the supposition that if one lived and was loved, such a shared existence earned honorable observance. Posada's work resonates too well in the idea or perhaps, audacious inquiry, of who is worthy of ceremony.

What one digs most here is how Posada's politico-art places him as one of the first 'influencers' or 'thought leaders'. "Day of the Dead" existed millennia preceding him. Yet the popularity of his illustrations in leading Mexican publications created iconic imagery that not only was incorporated into Día de los Muertos festivities but seems to have become the de facto visual for its costuming today - in reverent socio-spiritual exercise.

Posada apparently inspired no less than artists like Diego Rivera:

Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, 1946-1947, Diego Rivera

La Calavera Catrina, or "Elegant Skull", is perhaps Posada's most famous reference, with her intentionally ostentatious hat:

Those closer to the holiday's pre-Columbian Mesoamerica origins forgo Posada's millinery 'commentary' to instead weave their hair directly in stunning floral displays. The choices of flower are not random. Each color holds meaning: their wish for the flight of the deceased. Chuckling at Posada's parody of brown peops' middle-class mores 'aspiring' to Euro ideals, literally in procession, down Mexican streets - right alongside these ancient floral intricacies of Indigenous pageantry on November 1 thru November 2. Just gotta appreciate the translation of that nigh absurd tension: how Empire eva looms, daresay 'haunts' - even the esteemed expression of the most intimate remembrance.

Traditionally, favorite foods - of those beloved souls transcended - are offerings in edible memoriam. My sister and I are currently roasting sweet potatoes. Either late parents' taste buds, as well as our pre-Middle Passage ancestral 'root', is thereby well-acknowledged. Like memory and perspective, one dish can invite diverse 'flavor'. My sister's sensorial preference leans more savory while I prefer the sweeter culinary route. Am quite humbled by the extreme fortune of a tree just feet away with the Fuji variety beckoning a picking. Likely later today, I'll sauté slices of these autumnal apples - at their seasonal peak - in ghee and cinnamon, to pour into the steaming split root veggie...with flesh the color of marigolds.

Observe as ye will, my sweets...

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905629/oakland-adrian-arias-honors-bay-area-artists-at-somarts-and-mission-cultural-center-day-of-the-dead

https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2021/10/28/day-of-the-dead-chicano-artists-los-angeles-commercialization?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=YESDaily_20211101&utm_content=YESDaily_20211101+CID_cf9b41d43758aa9bdb256fc0f05ad9e5&utm_source=CM

a clever as compassionate critique

on the implausibility

of POSTness

Til our next 'post', feast upon produce in season...