Mexico Travel Photography Facebook Group of 287 members just finished up submitting a photo a day as part of a five-day photography challenge. Here are the statistics:
STATS: Last week’s 5-Day Photo Challenge, Day of the Dead. 39 people participated all week. They posted 136 photos total. 15 people posted 5 days in a row. Congratulations to all.
Panteón de Romerillo, San Juan Chamula district, Chiapas, by Ana Paula Fuentes
Special thanks to the 15 people with 5-day staying power: Karen Otter, Ann Conway, Maité Guadarrama, Diane Hobbs, Martha Canseco Bennetts, Betsy McNair, Mary Anne Huff Shaw, Aurora Cabrera, Gail Schacter, Shannon Pixley Sheppard, Cristina Potters, Nick Hamblen, Kathryn Leide, Geri Anderson, Karen Nein.
San Martin Tilcajete cemetery, by Karen Nein
I selected a few to show you here. Why these? All selections, of course, are personal judgment. I happened to like the light or composition or subject matter. I’m also attracted to blurred images lately, as well as a high contrast black and white photography.
La Señora de Recycling, Toluca, by Betsy McNair
Sometimes, a photo is innovative — the photographer shot from an unusual angle or perspective, came in close or got the sky exactly right.
Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato cemetery, by Nick Hamblen
You can see from these that the subject does not have to be looking right at you. The photo can be crisp or slightly out of focus.
Getting into the spirit early in San Miguel de Allende, by Laura Bly
Ihuatzio, Michoacan cemetery, by Florence Leyret Jeune
Setting the scene matters. Telling a story counts.
Oaxaca Bachillerato Comparsa (parade) 2013, by Diane Hobbs
Etla Comparsa by Karen Otter
I bet hundreds of people took photos of the suspended marigolds at the textile museum and not many saw the juxtaposition of orange against blue sky.
Museo Textil de Oaxaca, by Gail Schacter
Oaxaca children’s procession, by Barbara Szombatfalvy
Oaxaca, bringing fragrant marigolds to the grave, by Kathryn Leide
San Felipe, Chiapas cemetery, by Ann Conway
As you can see, Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite holidays, right up there with Thanksgiving in the USA. I’m having a hard time letting go the the days behind us, but soon, we’ll be showing images leading up to the Christmas celebrations in Mexico.
Oaxaca Comparsa by Erin Loughran
Kids’ parade, San Miguel de Allende, 2013, by Gina Hyams
Tlacolula market Muertos flower vendors, by Christophe Gaillot
Hope you like this curated selection. To see them all, go to Mexico Travel Photography.
In two weeks, I leave for India. Look for posts about the textiles I find there. Meanwhile, enjoy this beautiful autumn season.
From Los Angeles, con abrazos, Norma.
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Marigolds and Altars: Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico
The campo (countryside) is a blanket of tiny yellow flowers called cempasuchitl or wild marigolds that come up in southern Mexico this time of year. It’s less than a week before Day of the Dead here in Oaxaca. Preparations have begun.
My friend Guadalupe was at the casita yesterday and she explained that the intense yellow color of the wild marigold signals the dead to return to earth for Dia de los Muertos. That’s why they are a prominent part of altars.
The dead like color, she says, and the strong scent of the marigolds. Lupe also said that the bees make a deep yellow honey from the wild marigolds this time of year and this can be special addition to the altar.
This altar is a tribute to him.
It is somewhat typical of Teotitlan del Valle altars. It has the favorite food and beverages that the deceased liked. Bread. Chocolate. Fruit. Nuts. A soft drink and/or a bottle of beer. Perhaps a bowl of atole. Our parents weren’t drinkers, but on occasion our dad would enjoy a beer. I’m sure in his lifetime he had a Victoria when we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant. So here it is along with my artisanal mezcal collection in garafones (hand-blown bottles).
There is more to add. The palm fronds used for arches that allow the dead to enter earth from the underworld won’t be available until later this week. I will wait to get fresh marigolds for November 1. I’ve already prepared the copal incense burner. The aroma also helps guide the spirits home. Lupe says I need to add peanuts even though I have pecans. Maybe I’ll put a marigold arch over the front doorway.
Day of the Dead is a pre-Hispanic tradition that blends into All Saints and All Souls Days which some also mistakenly refer to in the U.S.A. as Halloween. It isn’t Halloween here, said my friend Danny Hernandez. Some of the locals are not happy that the occasion is moving away from the traditional celebration toward the commercial with spiders, bats and Jack O’Lanterns.
My experience in building this altar is to reaffirm that Day of the Dead is for anyone who wants to create something very tangible and joyful to remember a loved one. This is a personal and community tribute to the continuity of life each step of the way. In my world, I see it as ecumenical and non-denominational.
Here in Teotitlan del Valle people will welcome their deceased into their homes on November 1 with a meal of chicken tamales with yellow mole. On November 2 they will return to the cemetery to help guide the spirits’ return to the underworld after the 3 p.m. lunch. During this 24-hour period, they will receive visitors and make visits to family and friends with altar gifts of chocolate, Pan de Muertos, beer and mezcal to honor family and loved ones.
P.S. Weavers in Teotitlan del Valle who work with natural dyes collect cempasuchitl this time of year and hang it to dry. It makes a beautiful yellow dye on wool and silk. When over-dyed with indigo, it is the color of the corn leaves in the photo above.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Photography, Teotitlan del Valle, Travel & Tourism
Tagged altar, bread, build, cempasuchitl, construct, culture, day of the dead, dia de los muertos, flowers, Halloween, history, Mexico, Oaxaca, Teotitlan del Valle, tradition