Noche de los Muertos

I had always been fascinated by this unusual Mexican celebration of life after death. More commonly known as “Dias de los Muertos” – Day of the Dead. But, it is the night when the real action happens.



Before the Spaniards arrived, it used to be celebrated in the entire month of August, but the Spaniards in order to coincide with All Saints Day, moved the date to Nov. 1st. Now it is celebrated on Oct. 31st and Nov. 1st.

I got a chance to visit Tzintzuntzan, a small village on the shore of Patzcuaro lake in the state of Michoacan to document this old tradition. Tzintzuntzan, the land of the Purhepecha’s was the capital of the Tarascan empire until it was conquered by the Spaniards in the 1520s. The name Tzintzuntzan comes from the P'urhépecha language, meaning “place of the hummingbirds.” A lot of the natives still speak the old Purhepechan language.

Most of the festivities begin later in the evening, when the parade runs through the main city block. Families carry huge wooden hoards covered with marigold flowers and pictures of their loved one’s. The parade ends at the door steps of the town church and moves inside where the head priest takes over from there. The Church was not in the original tradition but got induced by the Spaniards.

As soon as the church services end, the cultural program begins, which involves talent shows and rich traditional dances by the little ones to the elderly. The traditional Aztec ball game of fire is played in the middle of the night. This game is played next to the “yácatas”, which are semi-circular pyramids. This is a special ball made of animal skin which is lit on fire and played with something that looks like a hockey stick. During the Aztec era, whichever team won the game were sacrificed to the Gods and was considered sacred and holy.

At the end of the night everyone retreats into the cemetery. The cemeteries which often represent a dead view by the world, suddenly looks alive with millions of candle light and people hovering around them. It is not only beautiful but a very spiritual experience. Family members gather around the tombstones often singing, sharing jokes or sometimes just being there quietly. They believe that on Oct31st night is when the children and the unmarried return followed by adults on Nov1st night.

It is a night to remember.

La Catrina

Catrina's were first created by a Political satirist Jose Guadalupe Posada to mock the upper classes and political injustice. La Catrina's as they are called is now a symbol of Day of the Dead celebrations held in Mexico every November. Wearing her signature hat she depicts a turn of the century upper class lady.

Today Mexican folk artists emulate Posada’s work, recreating La Catrina in wood carvings, ceramics, paintings and other mediums.

I had been to Mexico to witness and document the Day of the Dead festival. During this trip, with the help of my guide, I had the privilege to meet one such family who specialize in making clay Catrina's. The DeLa Cruz family is from Capula, a small village on the outskirts of Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacan. The Dela Cruz family started the tradition of making clay Catrina's in Capula. Now most of the residents earn a living by making Catrina's. In fact the Catrina's made in Capula are famous throughout the state of Michoacan. These are sold during the Day of the Dead celebrations.





The unique thing about this family is, each member does their own Catrina from start to finish, thus giving their signature style. This is different than most people in Capula who work together thus dividing the labor among them, thereby preferring cost and time over uniqueness and signature style.

Click on the slideshow to see the entire gallery.

Alebrijes

In front of Angel de la Independencia on Reforma, Mexico City

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I rarely shoot someone else's art work. But I was fascinated by the way these Alebrijies were looking at the outside world. Rather than people looking at them, I constantly felt that these fascinating creatures made out of papier mache were looking inquisitively at the world around them.

Manjari's Bharatnatya Arangetram

Manjari had her Bharatanatya Arangetram on September 13th, 2009 at Granville Performance Arts Center. The beautiful, bubbly and highly talented Manjari danced on stage with ease and perfection. The costumes and the backdrop were also gorgeous.
Here are a few glimpses from the show...


Backstage Moments...








Performance

Nisha & Swetha's Bharatanatya Arangetram

Nisha & Swetha had their Bharatanatya Arangetram on August 30th, 2009 at Granville Performance Arts Center. It was a delight to see these two beautiful girls give a splendid performance. Here are a few glimpses from the show...


Backstage Fun

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Swetha Sankar

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Swetha & Nisha

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Nisha Iyer

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For a complete set of images, please click on the "Client Photos" link at the top of the blog to access my Client site.
Enjoy!