THE VISION OF DEATH IN

THE MEXICAN CULTURE

LUISA HUIZAR

INSTRUCTOR: MARTA MCCABE

EFL 074 | 3. NOVEMBER . 2016

INTRODUCTIONThe vision of death in Mexico is assertive and idealized, but why is this Mexican perspective different from that of the others cultures?

One can not understand the relationship between death and the Mexican culture without analyzing their past.

I will explain the events through the history of Mexico which are the main causes of this particular perspective.

OUTLINE➤ Brief Introducción to Death.

• What is death? • Mexican culture and death.

➤ Main causes of the particular contemporary perception of death in the Mexican culture.

A. Pre-Hispanic Heritage. B. Catholic Influence. C. Adaptation to death in the Mexican cultural identity

➤ Day of the Death (brief explanation) ➤ Conclusion ➤ Works cited.

DEATHA BRIEF INTRODUCCIÓN

WHATS DEATH?

•The permanent ending of vital processes. (Oxford Dictionaries)

•Human fear fear of the unknown.

Death Life

MEXICAN CULTURE

AND DEATH

“ The Mexican... is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it, it is

one of his most favorite toys and her most steadfast love…

He looks at it face to face, with impatience, disdain or irony.

-Octavio Paz Mexican writer and Nobel prize-winner

MEXICAN CULTURE:

CROSSBREED BETWEEN THE OCCIDENTAL AND THE

NATIVE IDEOLOGIES

MAIN CAUSES

OF THE PARTICULAR CONTEMPORARY

PERCEPTION OF DEATH IN THE MEXICAN CULTURE

a) Pre-Hispanic heritage

b) Catholic influencec) Adaptation to death in the Mexican

cultural identity

A) PRE-HISPANIC HERITAGE

DUALITYDeath

• Sacrifices were tributes to their Gods.

• Continuity of their existence in the cosmos.

UNDERWORLD: CONTINUITY OR EXTENSION OF LIFE.

A CYCLE WITHOUT AN END

Tlalocan

Tonatiuhichan

Mictlán

“For the warriors, the greatest pride was volunteering to be sacrificed, for that reason they walked on their own feet to their death

-Frances, Brendan.

A. Beautiful Reincarnation. B. Water Paradise. C. 9 levels New Life

• Not afraid of “death”. • Continuity or extension

of life.

B) CATHOLIC INFLUENCE

1521

CONQUEST OF CENTRAL MEXICO 83%

‣Catholic Roman Church.

‣Different concept of death slowly introduced into the native culture.

‣Most important Spanish legacies in Mexico.

➡ Both believed in an eternal life.

➡ Native ideology: no judgment or penalty.

Hell eternal punishment/ worst destiny. Heaven reward/ divine place. obeying God's commands

➡ Concern about their way of life.

Led Mexicans to fear death.

CATHOLIC IDEOLOGY OF DEATH

C) ADAPTATION TO DEATH IN THE MEXICAN CULTURAL IDENTITY

XIX - XX CENTURY Times of Revolution

José Guadalupe Posada

“Calaveritas” - Humorous verses.

- Criticize and make fun public figures.

- Talk about people’s death or as if they were

already dead.

- Social inequalities.

DEATH LIVES SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE MEXICAN PEOPLE

Most famous representation of death in Mexico “La Catrina” (The Catrina Skeleton)

By Diego Rivera and Posada

All identified with death.

Reminder: we all are equal.

Daily basis without scaring anybody.

Natural.

DAY OF THE DEAD brief explanation

We celebrate life ‣ Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Mixture between cultures All Saints Day and All Souls Day

+

Mictecacihuatl Tribute. ‣ Illustrate death in contemporary Mexican

culture.

Show the souls their way home. 2,3 or 7 levels souls have to reach to get to

heaven.

Death has been an essential and inseparable part of the Mexican culture and folklore. Evolution of ideologies over the time has created a unique perspective of death.

The contemporary perception of death is full of joy and fear at the same time.

And it helps the Mexican society to cope with mortality.

CONCLUSION

“We (Mexican people) treat death with familiarity and fun in the hope that at the end of our life, death will treat us in the same way.

-Personal reflection.

Allen, Kerri. “Stayin’ Alive; El Día de los Muertos: A Primer”. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education,

vol.15, no.2, 2004, p.35.

“Catechism of the Catholic Church”. The Holy See. 2016. w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/es.html

Frances, Berdan. The Aztecs of Central Mexico. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College. United States of

America, 1982.

Gallego, Mariano. José Guadalupe Posada: la muerte y la cultura popular Mexicana. Universidad de Buenos

Aires. Buenos Aires, 2007.

Hinch, Emily. “Posada: Drawn from a Notebook”. Business Mexico, vol.12, no.1, 2003, p.62.

Lomnitz-Adler, Claudio. Death and The Idea of Mexico. Zone Books, 2005.

Menard, Valerie. “Día de los Muertos”. The Latino Holiday Book: From Cinco de Mayo to Día de Muertos.

Marlowe & Company, 2000, pp.137-149.

Paz, Octavio. “All Saints' Days. Day of the Dead”. The Labyrinth of Solitude: Life and Thought in Mexico.

Grove Press. New York, 1962, pp.18-26.

WORKS CITED

IMAGES USED IN THE PRESENTATION‣ Slide #1: http://www.gocios.com/blog/images/2016/calaveras-mexicanas/tatuaje-calavera-

mexicana-108.jpg

‣ Slide #4: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/death-scythe-vector-illustration-traditional-64084560.jpg

‣ Slide #5:http://www.facts-about.org.uk/images/socrates.jpg

‣ Slide #6:http://livingmagazine.life/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Dia-de-muertos-2.jpg

‣ Slide #7: http://arca.tv/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Dia-de-los-Muertos1.jpg and http://static.chilango.com/media/2016/09/23/desfile-de-dia-de-muertos.jpg

‣ Slide #8: http://www.milenio.com/hey/Octavio-Paz_MILIMA20140330_0143_31.jpg

‣ Slide #9: http://www.laportadacanada.com/userfiles/images/torontobre1mexicanos.jpg

‣ Slide #10: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QmEubC8Ird8/VnMC746zFhI/AAAAAAAALO4/QH4Ew_Ge-uc/s450-Ic42/08-bandera-1916-1934-historia-bandera-mexico.png

‣ Slide #11: https://letrasalvajeediciones.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/calaveras-del-montocc81n.jpg , http://teohumanista.weebly.com/uploads/9/5/6/7/9567006/358501_orig.jpg?0 and http://www.semanario.com.mx/ps/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/291.jpg

‣ Slide #12: https://historiadoreshistericos.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/ans_30_01_21.jpg

‣ Slide #13: http://cdn1.matadornetwork.com/blogs/2/2015/10/mictlan2-portada.jpg , http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oClRFEltA4U/TP_biWYKZ6I/AAAAAAAAAJY/TM0WQGrt85A/s1600/Quetzalcoatl.jpg y http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2AerDl5_6Q8/S_mibXb4-vI/AAAAAAAAACg/vk7o4oCnykI/s320/Tlalocan.jpeg

‣ Slide #15: http://culturacolectiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mictlán2.jpg and http://culturacolectiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mictlán.jpg

‣ Slide #16: http://static.americateve.com/adjuntos/179/imagenes/001/852/0001852232.jpg and http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2lm-3M8aBcE/Ui8-lEYL7QI/AAAAAAAAmF0/BTp4wEO_kL4/s400/000.jpg

‣ Slide #17: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/44/b7/24/44b7241a3e6aa89d1590c0c96177949e.jpg and http://hazmeelchingadofavor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/indigenas.jpg

‣ Slide #18: https://imagenpoliticadotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/josc3a9-guadalupe-posada001.jpg , http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/04/29/fotos/a09n1cul-1.jpg and https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M-irIC3dQNs/U5Q2SfSq42I/AAAAAAAAO8Y/gI4_UUz7-80/w370-h347/posada_calaveras.gif

‣ Slide #19: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8476/8139470273_43b3b2f7ab_o.jpg , https://motivosdelamarea.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/clip_image007_thumb.jpg?w=421&h=407 and https://comunidadlazarocardenasiems.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/calaveras1.jpg

‣ Slide #20:http://e-blogueria.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/catrina-de-Diego-Rivera.jpg and http://i0.wp.com/www.sopitas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/jose-guadalupe-posada-la-garbancera-e1446395699565.jpg

‣ Slide #21: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2725/4068765858_8c246cdb86_b.jpg

‣ Slide #22: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/44/b7/24/44b7241a3e6aa89d1590c0c96177949e.jpg and https://morkeschocolates.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/s/k/skulls-pt_group_2013.web.jpg