Posada and Mexico: Identity through Art

Research Update

For this week, I wanted to look at how some of the themes that Posada used in his art and how they reflect the Mexican identity with death.  With that said, I decided to start with an article that focused on art history by Ilan Stavans.  The purpose behind using this article would be to gain the background or at least understanding behind the work that Posada produced.  Art history will typically look at other aspects of the art including the material and tools used to create it, but for the purpose of this blog entry I will focus on the historical meaning behind the work that is given in this article.  I hope to be able to find a book on the subject matter so I could have a more detailed analysis on the matter, but I will work with this brief introduction.  I may do something special regarding contemporary Day of the Dead celebrations next week (since that is when the actual observance occurs) and I also hope to find more information regarding the psychological understanding of death and dying for Mexico.  For now, we shall focus our discussion on Posada and his contributions to Mexican identity.

 Jose Guadalupe Posada, Lampooner

The author, Stavans, throughout the work produces a biography on Posada.  For Posada, he started off mainly as a satirist poking fun at the various political functions occurring during his lifetime (1852-1913) especially the reign of the Bonaparte family tied to France and the Mexican Revolution in the 20th Century.   This use of humor was a continuity throughout his career, but it would take a dramatic turn with his correspondence to the editor and  publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo in 1895.  In fact, "it is commonly thought that Posada, during his association with Arroyo, created the calavera -a humourous, vivid drawing of dressed-up skulls or skeletons engaged in activities such as dancing, cycling, guitar playing, drinking, or masquerading." (Stavans 59)  As has been discussed previously, the calavera has become a symbol of the Mexican Days of the Dead festivals and this is merely its origin.  Posada sought to exemplify his use of political humor towards the various government actions. (such works include the ones depicted below)  I also am presenting an image that has previously been used in my blog posts (the second one featuring a calavera on a horse) because this article presented a piece of information that is quite relevant to finding his work.  As Stavans said,
"many of Posada's calaveras bear no signature, and over the years the works of countless imitators and forgers have been falsely attributed to him." (Stavans 62) This particular work could have been done by another artist Manuel Manilla.

The best discussion that Stavans presented on Posada regards how his art relates to Mexican identity.  The first line that was straight forward and gave an understanding of what inspired Posada to begin using the calavera in his art.  As Stavans put it, "originally, Posada simply intended to commemorate Mexico's 'Day of the Dead...'"(Stavans 61)  It was from this spur of motivation that helped his work become a national icon for that of Mexico.  Many that followed Posada would state that his art not only embodied the various themes of death, but also presented an imagery went hand in hand with Mexico.  "Posada was able to portray the sadism, torture, madness, superstition, and paranoia of his time through these incredibly complex, outstanding imaginative characters without ever losing touch with the Mexican soul, perhaps, because they inhabit it." (Stavans 70)  Along with  this, Stavans demonstrates that the artist Andre Breton believed that "...Mexico, with its superb funereal playthings, is the chosen land of black humor." (Stavans 69)   This idea of dark humor, exemplified through imagery of death that Posada used, has become the calling card for Mexico and explains why Mexico has such a sincere relationship with Posada.  As Stavans put it, "Posada is Mexico." (pg 70)

The above images are continued examples of Posada's work with death.  The first one depicts a satire of Don Quixote and the second one depicts an assassination attempt by Maria Antonia Rodriguez of her friend.  I chose this image not just because of the assassination attempt, but also the imagery of demons actually preventing the assassination.  It is an example of his art that does not include a calavera but still invokes the ideas of death and dying associated with Mexico.

Source(s) Cited: Stavans, Ilan.  "Jose Guadalupe Posada, Lampooner." The Journal of Decorative and Propoganda Arts 16 no. 2 (Summer 1990) http://www.jstor.org/stable/1504066 (accessed Oct. 27, 2013).

Contemporary Day of the Dead: An Outside Perspective

Current Progress

As I stated last week, I wanted to take a break from the Lomnitz work as a means of gaining a different perspective on death and the Days of the Dead regarding Mexico.  What I found for this week was the work of a Frank Gonzalez-Crussi, a pathologist, which is entitled Day of the Dead and Other Mortal Reflections.  Because he is most associated with the medical field, I figured he would provide me some insight into the Days of the Dead from a medical perspective.  Although his main focus during this work is around filming a documentary for the BBC about mortuary practices in Mexico, he happens to be in the country while the festivities of this particular holiday occur.  He mainly sums up most of the themes I have already covered, but brings some insight that is relevant to my research.  regarding my next post, I hope to look more into the artist representations of death either through another article or by actually finding works of art during the period.  Regardless, here is this weeks blog discussion.

The Grin of the Calavera

 Gonzalez-Crussi is right in the heart of Mexico city at the early phases of his documentary.  He describes various aspects of the Mexican traditions regarding the Days of the Dead discussing everything from the calaveras to the funerary arrangements.  At first, he explains how the satirical use of the calaveras (or skeletons) are used not simply to poke fun at the living, but have a power to unit people of all walks of life.  In fact, Gonzalez-Crussi says, "starting with local personages, the entire world is the target of satire.  The celebration is national, and its unambiguous aim is to ridicule everyone, rich or poor, humble or exalted, foolish or wise." ( pg 39) His next major observation is towards the cemetery arrangements in Mexico.  He compares these to some of the Western styles and finds some similarities, particularly how wealth determines how extravagant the tombstone or mausoleum is.  Yet, he also looks at the differences pertaining to how Western cemeteries are often somber and lack any form of celebration.  Gonzalez-Crussi describes the Mexican cemeteries quite differently as the people are "dressed in their Sunday frippery, neighbors greet each other, families gossip, parents reprimand unruly children, and all heartily consume the abundant food that on this occasion is anomalously available on hallowed ground." (pg 43)

Ofrenda Displays

Gonzalez-Crussi delves a little into the history of this Mexican tradition at this point.  I know I have dealt a lot with the history of this Mexican observance so I will not get into the heavy details.  Yet, I feel that he provides some interesting information in this regard.  One of the most important lines that grasped my attention regarding the history was what he had to say regarding the Mexica (Aztec).  He stated "the Aztecs viewed life as a prison, whose chief merit was its transitoriness." (Gonzalez-Crussi 64)  Other sources that I have read have interpreted a fusion of indigenous and European culture to form the contemporary Days of the Dead culture and this mindset could be another correlation that might have been passed down to the current generations towards death.  Another aspect that he focused on also related to the blending of the cultural beliefs which I have not read about up to this point.  apparently an "uncovering" of the body of Coatlicue occurred during the late 18th Century ( I want to say a representation of Coatlicue).  The end result from this discovery was that the current Spanish viceroy "...declared that Coatlicue should repose in a stately hall of Mexico' Royal and Pontificial University, amidst plaster casts and statues donated by the Spanish crown." ( Gonzalez-Crussi 53)

                                                    Coatlicue

Of Skulls in a Heap

 The final discussion the author discusses regarding the Days of the Dead are predominantly philosophical.  His focus complements other sources I have found that discuss how death and Mexico are almost inseparable.  Particularly, when Gonzalez-Crussi meets an old woman in Mizquic in which "she must have felt that her mother's soul would never rest in peace unless her post-death solace were secured by continuing a periodic dialogue she took so much in earnest." (pg 71)   The reason the old woman feels this way is because of the spiritual connection with the dead that predates European contact.  Because of this belief, Gonzalez-Crussi states that "...in Mexico the dead are not quite gone, and death remains a living personage, the bearer and harbinger of itself." (pg 70)  He also looks at how the skeletons are portrayed humorously and has an explanation for such.  He states that "it may be argued that all this is affectation and pose; that Mexicans disguise the universal fear of death under the trappings of hilarity." (pg 81)

Gonzalez-Crussi focuses on this last topic regarding the presence of hospitals and pathologists in regards to the spirits of the dead.  He believes that the spirits would not mind the presence of pathologists because of the purpose in helping the spirits pass on after their death.  His major claim is made when he states, "we were the last to minister to their earthly needs; the last to take charge of each body after it was disengaged from the soul." (pg 74)  He also mentions the importance of the cemeteries for the spirits since it was meant to be a soothing place for them as compared to other places.  Particularly, "it is in places such as as hospitals, prisons, and concentration camps that the spectacle of human suffering would remind the deceased of the pain of the living, and confirm them in the conviction that is infinitely better to have left to join the eternal cycle of nature's transmutations." (pg 74)

Source Cited: Gonzalez-Crussi, F. The Day of the Dead and Other Mortal Reflections. Florida: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1993.

Early Philosophical Views and Practices

Research and Development

Even with my current progress with the Lomnitz work, I have not gotten to the point that I would like to due to other things going on.  With that said, I will post more information from Lomnitz this week, but will look for another source to focus on next week and come back to this work.  My intent is to gain other opinions and data on the matter, even though Lomnitz has a fair amount of information regarding this topic.  Regardless, this week looks into understanding why the early Spanish settlers and remaining indigenous embraced their particular beliefs and practices regarding the dead.


New Spain: The Cultural Blender

As was discussed last week, some of the Spanish settlers brought over their Christian beliefs, but they also brought over some of their homeland beliefs regarding funerary practices and public action.  We would see this with the burial practices, the aspects of the "good death," but also because of the particular beliefs the Spanish had towards the body and soul.  Typically, the Spanish viewed the these elements as separate entities in which the soul was deemed immortal and more powerful over the body exposed to the temporary pleasures of life. (Lomnitz 154-55)  This temporary belief was part of the foundation for why Christians would bury their dead in designated areas (over time these would be the responsibility of the church).

For the Indigenous, the body and soul were cooperative parts that worked very closely in life and to some extent in death.  In fact, Lomnitz demonstrated that, "unlike the Christian soul, the Mexican soul had a life that was in some respects parallel to that of the body..." (pg 160)  This relates with the common belief of many Mesoamerican groups that souls could inhabit things in the living world such as birds and stones. (Lomnitz 162)  Along with this belief, another common practice that would occur involved bringing the bodies of the dead to very large caves called machayes for respecting and preserving the bodies.

(could not find any images of machayes, but I thought this cave from Chihuahua, Mexico would do)

The Spanish clergy hoped to suppress the various practices of the indigenous including the various machayes.  However, one particular practice of Mesoamerican festivals included the persistence of alcohol.  As Lomnitz stated, "For indigenous peoples, inebriation, dancing, and feasting involved forms of communication with the spirits that diverged widely from...a proper Christian funeral." (pg 172)  The clergy were willing to allow these festivities to occur so long as the indigenous gave up their practices of pagan idols and human sacrifice. (Lomnitz 172) 

Purgatory and Days of the Dead

The role of purgatory became very influential to the indigenous as the clergy demonstrated this was where the poor would go after they died.  Since often times the poor could not provide for their own funerary services, the indigenous believed it necessary to still aid them "...by offering meals that helped sustain them in the netherworld and prayers that hastened their passage to heaven." ( pg 227)  This played a key role in the development of the ofrenda and the calavera (skulls) that have been talked about in previous blogs as offerings to the dead. 

Along with this development, two other developments during the late 16th and early 17th century shaped the emergence of the contemporary Days of the Dead.   The first involves the domestication of the dead for the indigenous population, in which they could commemorate their loved ones within their own homes as well as in mass.  Part of this developed out of the need to accommodate the poor so that they did not have to spend so much to commemorate their deceased during the Days of the Dead.  The second would be the revival of idols, specifically Christian representations of their Catholic saints.  It is said that these relics produced a "...widespread belief in their miraculous and curative powers..." (Lomnitz 248)  These relics often were representations of the various saints, not the pagan idols they were more familiar with, and were often also within the households as some of the most precious possessions.

(Ofrenda within a home)

(one head of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, one of several accepted relics during this period)


Source: Lomnitz, Claudio. Death and the Idea of Mexico. New York: Zone Books, 2005.