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.