Calaveritas

Welcome to “que pasa con los muertos” where the dead come very much alive. In this special feature on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in San Miguel we have a vibrant offering that combines the traditional and the irreverent with articles on local artesanos who make a living out of death, and yes some of it is sugar–coated; great masters of muerte a la Mexicana; where to shop ‘til you drop; make an altar to die for, and how to “Raise the Dead”, we found 17, though I’m sure you know more!

Jesús Ibarra and Eric Chazzaro put the first nail in the coffin by striking a deadly blow to some well-known figures and Atencion staff with the following Calaveras (rhymes). So if your Spanish is like death warmed up then grab a dictionary, as they are not to be missed.
Enjoy,
Suzanne Ludekens, Editor in Chief

Calaveras públicas y privadas
por Jesús Ibarra

 

Jesús Correa (Alcalde de San Miguel) Con la derrota de Rosas Contento quedó Correa Ya ocupa la presidencia Y sonríe de oreja a oreja Más la Calaca envidiosa No lo puede permitir Y hace sentir su presencia Para llevarlo a su fin De tremebunda diarrea Se murió Jesús Correa Y hoy los muertos del panteón Celebran un gran festón Pues ya tienen a su PAN Y el PAN de muerto es mejor

Luis Alberto Villarreal 
(Ex/alcalde, ya senador)
Del Municipio al Senado
Don Luis Alberto pasó
Más por la muerte asediado
El gusto no le duró
En su Pueblo Mágico está
Enterrado en el panteón
Y como Juntos somos más
Con muchos muertos quedó

Juan Antonio Jaramillo (ex–alcalde)
Triste estaba Jaramillo
Y hasta se puso amarillo
Del coraje que le dio
La presidencia dejar
Y a SAPASMA regresar
Por mandar a levantar 
Las calles de la ciudad
Se tropezó Juan Antonio
Y ya se encuentra en el hoyo
Y al panteón municipal
Con la muerte fue a bailar

Ali Zeriffi (Presidente Biblioteca Púlica)
Desde el Canadá emigrado,
Hablando español mezclado
De árabe, inglés y francés,
Ali Zeriffi ha llegado
A vivir a San Miguel
Dirigió la Biblioteca
Y les concedió una beca
A estudiantes aplicados 
Del pueblo de San Miguel
Pero hoy Alí murió
Y en el panteón se quedó
Hoy los muertos leen y leen
Tanto libro que llevó

Suzanne Ludekens (Editora Atención)
Desde Australia Suzanne llegó
A dirigir Atención,
Con alegría ella bailaba
Y a sus empleados mandaba
Pero el martes el desvelo
Para cerrar la edición
La muerte le provocó
La Calaca con un velo
Al panteón se la llevó
Y ahora los muertos son 
Los que cierran la edición

 

Tania Noriz (Reportera) Con tacones caminaba Tania en la calle empedrada Haciendo sus reportajes P’al periódico Atención. Más un día por descuidada El tacón se le atoró La Calaca apresurada Se acercó para ayudarla Y se la llevó al panteón. Hoy Fabián llora muy triste La pérdida de su amada Pues para él no tiene chiste Hacer solito el Que Pasa

Larizza Osorio (Editora de Arte)
Larizza murió de risa
Al diseñar Atención
Cuando Noel le ayudaba...
A bajar una canción
Hoy Atención ya no tiene
Quien diseñe su edición
Hasta que Suzanne no encuentre
A un nuevo diseñador




Al Atención San Miguel…
por Eric Cházaro Cavero

Los colaboradores del “Atención”
que trabajan todo el año,
un gran felicitación,
pero no les vaya a hacer daño

Su directora Susana
nos recuerda a una Catrina
elegante la fulana,
delgada como una cortina

Los reportajes de la Tania
nos entretienen todo el año,
algunos vienen con maña;
pero ninguno con engaño

 

Larizza es la responsable de que Noel no se haga guey su capacidad es innegable pero hay que andar tras de él

Anita y Sandra en la puerta te reciben siempre sonrientes, pero cuando llega la cuenta, siempre dejan ir los dientes

A los otros colaboradores
a quienes no conocemos
les agrademos de mil amores
su trabajo y sus esfuerzos.




Making fun, and art, of death
By Jesús Ibarra

 

It has been said that Mexicans have very little respect for death because of our constant mocking of it. Who has not seen the Calavera Catrina (elegant lady skeleton), adorned with hat, feathers and flowers, and baring her teeth? Since her creation by the renowned Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada in 1852, she has come to symbolize not only the Mexican Día de los Muertos but even death itself.

The original Catrina, an engraving by Posada, was created as a satirical commentary of the elite ruling class during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Since her first public appearance, many other artists have been inspired by her “elegance,” including muralists José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera. Closer to home, La Catrina has also proved an inspiration for local artists.

Little skeletons everywhere…

 

The playful and irreverent relationship of Mexicans with death is probably best represented locally in the work of José Antonio Madrazo who creates nichos (niches) filled with tiny skeletons and impertinent refranes (Mexican proverbs) that make fun of our daily lives.

“Dios habla por el que calla” (God speaks through those who keep silent); “Vas al cielo por el clima y al infierno por compañía” (You go to heaven for the weather and to hell for company); “El que se casa se lo lleva la chingada” (The one who gets married is lost)—these are but some of the phrases on the brightly painted and decorated nichos. The diminutive skeletons of these curious and wonderful works also have a life of their own representing famous characters from Mexico and around the world—Emiliano Zapata, Frida Kahlo, The Village People and The Beatles.

José Antonio Madrazo left Mexico City 27 years ago for San Miguel, starting a new life and business. “The idea began when I had a restaurant in Salida a Celaya called Carlos n’ Cheves, which was decorated in a humoristic way, with comic elements everywhere,” he said. “One day my partner brought some simple nichos, made by local artisans, and we decided to decorate them based on Posada’s Catrina representing the dead as if they were still alive.”

Madrazo was a pioneer in San Miguel in decorating nichos. “As we began to decorate and sell the nichos, we noticed that we had no competition,” he recalls. “Then we saw that those most in demand were on death combined with refranes. Currently, 80 percent of my work is on death.” 

Madrazo’s work also elaborates large, decorated clay Calavera skulls. 

The winning formula for this artist is an original design that is combined with the capacities of local artisans. “I am not the only one involved in these pieces. I design them, but at least four others are involved—making the nichos, the figures, painting the nichos and writing the phrases,” said Madrazo. Local artisans from rural communities, mainly from Támbula and El Moral, collaborate with Madrazo to decorate the nichos and make the small clay skeletons. “I personally take the material to the communities so that the artisans do not have to spend their little money on transportation,” said Madrazo. 

Madrazo’s work is called New Folk Art, and is known in different parts of the world. His work is exhibited in the Peabody Museum in Boston, at Harvard University, in the Mexican Art Museum in San Francisco, the Cultural Center of Contemporary Art in Mexico City. One of his most famous works is exhibited in Disney World in Florida, at Epcot Center’s Mexican Pavilion. “This work represents a Day of the Dead scene,” said Madrazo. 


Madrazo exports around the globe to Japan, Europe, Australia and South Africa. And his clients include the famous—Ringo Starr has a nicho with four Beatles skeletons; Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones; actors Steve Martin and Alain Delon; Mexican singer Lucero, and the “banda grupera” Los Tigres del Norte (Northern Tigers) have all purchased Madrazo’s fun representations of themselves. 

In San Miguel, Madrazo’s nichos are on sale at Restaurant El Pegaso and in Casa Maxwell in Umarán, and vary from 47 to 5,000 pesos. 

Catrinas and calaveras

Genaro Almanza, 77, has elaborated calaveras since he was seven. Although well known for his skill in the restoration of religious figures, Almanza continued with his hobby making skulls and catrinas in sugar, wood, clay and papier-mâché.

His calaveras and catrinas are now sought after from all parts of the country; he has works in Saltillo, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Querétaro and Mexico City.

Despite his success, Almanza’s main focus is not selling his work but teaching others how to do it. “I teach to give to my town what my town has given to me,” said Almanza, who teaches sugar sculpture to children at the Museo Casa de Allende and Casa de la Cultura in El Chorro.

To special-order from Almanza, call 152-4521.






A sweet taste of death
By Tania Noriz

 

In Mexico, people like to eat death…and it tastes sweet. Besides the Day of the Dead bread, both children and adults joyfully devour calacas (skulls), huesitos (bones) and even ataúdes (coffins) made of powdered sugar, gelatin and lemon juice.

These sweets are the famous alfeñiques, sold during the Day of the Dead season and dating back to the 17th century. 

For the last two weeks of October, the dulceros, alfeñique artisans, set up their stalls in the mercadito de alfeñiques (little market of alfeñiques) in the Plaza de la Soledad, in front of the Oratorio. There, calaveritas, miniature fruits and food items and little animals made of sugar—chickens, plates of mole and enchiladas, sugar eggs, tombs, hats, and even sandwiches and hamburgers—anything that may represent part of the life of the muertito. Along with these offerings, the customary skulls with names written on them, pan de muerto and candles are sold.

Each vendor has a particular range of products, from tiny sugar skulls for one peso to ornate coffins and elaborate tableaux for 100 pesos. With the commercial pressure of Halloween nowadays, synthetic wigs, plastic masks and accessories for witches, monsters and assorted monsters also hang side by side the traditional Mexican handicrafts.

The production of alfeñiques in San Miguel remains a family tradition. Maria del Rocío Vázquez, for example, took over the business from her mother five years ago. “The importance of this tradition is to symbolize the departed people we loved very much—just the godies have depainted their souls are still here. That is why we adorn the altars with candies that symbolize what they liked to eat and drink in life, so they are able to eat and smell those tasty goodies when they come to visit us,” she explains.Some molded candy shapes have other meanings. The guaje (jar) is offered so the muertitos will never be thirsty, the donkey in case they are tired of walking, the shoes so they do not walk barefoot and the hat so they can protect themselves from the sun. The production of alfeñiques begins in July, because the artisans need time to purchase and prepare all the ingredients for the November sale. “These are 100 percent handicrafts. The whole family works on them, so we need time to do it,” explained Juana Góme
z, who has been in the business for 40 years. “I started to work in the business when I was just a little girl; I helped my mother, Alicia Luna, who is one of the oldest and most recognized women in the business.” 

Juana’s creates around 300 pieces for the season. “I do not like to keep a single piece for next year. What is not sold I give away at the end,” says Juana, “We will continue working in this and maintaining the tradition, even though Halloween traditions are being introduced. I’m quite sure the people here prefer the Mexican crafts over the Halloween items, and that is the most important thing.”

The mercadito de alfeñiques is open in Plaza de la Soledad until November 6, from 9am to 8pm.

Folk art of the dead: current, past and ancient
By Deb Hall

In Mexico, hundreds, if not thousands, of artisans make their living solely by creating the iconography associated with Day of the Dead. While each story is unique, a closer look into the lives of three families provides a glimpse into three distinct aspects: one fairly modern, another closely associated with the era of Diego Rivera, and the last as old as Mexico itself.

 

Clay catrinas, those glorious bony divas, are a relatively new art form, and none are more beautiful than those created by Alvaro de la Cruz, who lives in Capula, Michoacán, and learned to create catrinas from artist Juan Torres in the 1980s. Torres, a contemporary painter, is widely credited with creating the Capula-style catrina.

After apprenticing with Torres, Alvaro decided to establish his own name and style. Today, dozens of Capula workshops make clay catrinas, but none are more sought-after than those made by the de la Cruz family.

Don Alvaro specializes in tall catrinas and is best known for his skeletal likenesses of nuns and bishops. The base of each figure is formed in a mold, then additional details are meticulously hand-formed. It is these delicate features that set the de la Cruz catrinas apart. Alvaro works with his four adult children, each also a catrina maestro. Not from a line of artisans, Alvaro de la Cruz progressed from apprentice to maestro to patriarch of a catrina-making clan in a single generation and embodies the modern face of Day of the Dead folk art.

 

To gain another perspective into the art of Day of the Dead, we must journey to Mexico City during Diego Rivera’s lifetime. It was during this era that Pedro Linares began his family’s evolution from piñata makers to papier-mâché maestros famous for their fantastic skeleton art.

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo loved all manner of Mexican folk art and commissioned Pedro to create giant papier-mâché skeleton figures to decorate their respective studios and homes. Inspired by these commissions, Pedro Linares, with time, was able to dedicate himself solely to the making of complex skeleton scenes replicating every aspect of Mexican life. Although Papa Pedro Linares died in 1992, his artistic vision continues today via his sons, grandchildren, great-grand children and many other relatives.

Each figure is hand-built, layer by glued paper layer, including wire, string and wood to ensure the sturdiness of the anatomical base. Commissions take months to finish, and in some cases, years. Linares papier-mâché skeletons have been featured in the Mexican Pavilion at Disney’s Epcot Center and in the Pompidou Center in Paris and continue to be some of the most-sought skeletal renditions in the world. From humble piñata makers to a name now synonymous with Day of the Dead, “Los Linares” are undoubtedly the first family of Mexican folk art today.

For yet another perspective on Day of the Dead folk art, we travel to the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro, and perhaps to the very beginning of Mexico itself. In this region, Purépecha villages celebrate Day of the Dead with the creation of beautiful altars welcoming the spirits to earth. 

An essential part of these altars are incense burners and candle holders made of black glazed clay known as “negro brilliante.” Today, the finest negro brilliante is crafted by Manuel Gerónimo Reyes of Santa Fe de la Laguna, Michoacán.

 

Now in his mid-forties, Manuel began working in clay at the age of 12, learning the art from his grandfather, who came from a long line of clay-makers. His candelabras and ritual incense burners are encrusted with delicate clay butterflies and flowers, almost lace-like in appearance.

His art is in great demand in preparation for Day of the Dead, for each decorated grave will feature at least one vessel to burn copal, the wonderful incense of Mexico, and several candelabras filled with candles to light the path for the returning souls. Ironically, this is also the rainy season, and the process of creation is slow. 

But somehow, everything works out as Manuel prepares to win yet another first-place prize for his intricate candelabras in the Day of the Dead concurso (juried show). 

But more important than garnering awards, Manuel is continuing the work of a line unbroken, providing an essential component of every altar surrounding Lake Pátzcuaro, as his family has done for centuries.

Examples of each artisan family profiled can be found at Zócalo, Hernández Macías 110.

Zócalo Fine Folk Art’s Day of the Dead altar

WHO: For Don Dario Soteno (who lived out his life in Metepec, Estado de México).

WHAT: A traditional Day of the Dead altar in the style of Michoacán featuring the elements of nature.

WHEN: Altar viewing at Zócalo beginning on Friday, October 27.

WHERE: Zócalo Fine Folk Art, Hernández Macías 110.

WHY: Zócalo Fine Folk Art is celebrating the life of a friend, Don Dario Soteno, patriarch of the great Soteno family. Don Dario made ritual clay healing pieces used in the curandera arts and lived to see his wife (Modesta Fernández, who preceded him in death), sons, grandsons and many other family members achieve worldwide fame and respect. Soteno Trees of Life grace many important public and private collections, including 52 Mexican embassies worldwide via presidential commission by Luis Echeverría. A Soteno Tree is included in the Vatican Collection, and most recently, a Soteno Tree was commissioned as the focal point of the entrance of the new Museo de Arte Popular (MAP) that opened this year in Mexico City. All of Mexico owes much to Don Dario and his talented family, and Zócalo honors his spirit with love in 2006. Don Dario passed away in March 2005.





Getting personal about death

 

Lisa Simms, jeweler and papier mâché artist

Day of the Dead is a time for me to honor and remember those who have gone on before me. It is a special time to recall pleasant memories and to show respect for the dead who are still very much a part of my life.

Skeleton imagery appeared in my work long before I knew what Day of the Dead was. Understanding the tradition of Day of the Dead and living among the Mexican people has given me permission to use the imagery in a cathartic way because now I get to pull out those fears of death and aging and make fun of them.

This will be the 11th year for me to make a home altar dedicated to my “tribe” of friends and a couple of family members. Most years I also do a separate altar in the gallery dedicated to an artist or creative person or a major event that has passed during the year. For example, two years ago we did a public altar dedicated to the dead in Iraq.

Rebecca Peterson, co-owner Magenta Gallery, art therapist and teacher

The image of la Virgen de Guadalupe has affected me profoundly. I firmly believe she saved my life at one time, so my faith in the world of Spirit has increased immensely living here. From the Toltec tradition, I’m learning to try to always remember the fact of my own death, to use it as my ally to help me to live in the present joyfully.

I often use images of death—skeletons and skulls, sometimes literal bones—in my artwork. I don’t see it at all as macabre; it’s a humorous or playful attitude. I think the skeletons represent the “soul,” a reminder of the impermanence of the body and the material world.

Building an altar is very important to me. There has been a lot of tragedy in my family, and the ritual of putting out photos and making the altar has helped heal that sadness and make it bearable, meaningful.

Singing and dancing are my favorite ways to “raise the dead.” I also like the idea that the souls are attracted to the altar by the smell of food on the altar and the marigolds. I leave a trail of petals going out the door so they can find their way. It’s a beautiful metaphor.

 

Rick & Deb Hall, owners of Zócalo Folk Art

First and foremost, Day of the Dead means time enjoyed in the Lake Pátzcuaro region. We first celebrated Noche de Animas (as it is called in that region) 15 years ago, and we have returned ever since. This year will be our 16th consecutive year to observe, document, and reflect on the beautiful traditions specific to indigenous Michoacán. Over the years, we have come to realize that Day of the Dead evokes feelings most closely associated with our own Thanksgiving rather than Halloween, as most believe. It is a time of bountiful harvest, the gathering of families, the preparation of favorite dishes and libations and the recalling of fond memories. The main difference is that the most honored guests are dead!

We have built many home altars over the years, in tribute to friends and acquaintances in the folk art world. One year, we honored the spirit of Ruth Lechuga. This year, we will be honoring Don Dario Soteno, among others.

Our favorite Day of the Dead tradition is to quietly visit the altars of friends beginning around 2am on November 2. We continue until dawn and on into the next day, visiting our last altars around sunset. We keep warm by drinking ponche con piquete (hot fruit punch) with a shot of churanda liquor. It’s a pretty cool way to pull an annual “all-nighter” at our age!


Heidi LeVasseur, co-owner of Casa de la Cuesta

Day of the Dead is one of the most emotional holidays of the year for us. It is a time to remember my parents and Bill’s father in the tradition of Day of the Dead. In the US there is little recognition or acknowledgement of the deceased. In Mexico, we have learned to remember and share the lives of our deceased relatives and friends with the living. We make several altars and offer a nice champagne toast!

PART II