Metro

Friday November 6, 2009

Mexicans adorn altars and give offerings to honour departed ones

TALE OF TWO CITIES: NEW YORK
By LIM AI LEE


MICHAEL Jackson was the special “guest-of-honour” at the recent Día de los muertos (Day of the Dead) festival celebrated by Mexicans living in New York city.

On Halloween night, (Oct 31) a celebration in tribute of The King of Pop was held on the grounds of St Mark’s Church in Manhattan where the Hispanic community invited Jackson’s soul to make an appearance at the spiritual festival.

Jackson’s death three months ago had a major impact all over the world, including Mexico and the community wanted to pay special tribute to him during the festival.

Regardless of whether the late singer made an “appearance”, many people who turned up at Union Square inspite of the rain had a great time as a deejay played Jackson’s music for two hours.

The event was one of many highlights of the four-day festival held in downtown Manhattan.

Age-old practice: A Mexican woman paying tribute at the altar during the Day of the Dead festival.

It was organised by Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders, a New York-based nonprofit organisation dedicated to celebrating Mexican culture in the United States and promoting the understanding of Mexican traditions among immigrants, artists, educators and the public.

Held for the seventh year in the Big Apple, the celebration - not unlike the Chinese version of the Hungry Ghosts Festival or the Japanese’ Bon Odori - is a unique way of understanding the traditions and culture of Mexico without having to cross borders.

Day of the Dead has been one of Mexico’s most important celebrations since pre-Hispanic times.

In honour of loved ones who have died, families gather and welcome their souls on their annual “visit” home.

Like Halloween, the Day of the Dead is a combination of Christian traditions and pagan ones.

Part of offerings: A skull bread.

In Mexico, the festival is associated with All Souls Day and All Saints Day which fall on Nov 1 and Nov 2 respectively.

Marigold flowers, fresh-pan bread, candles, sugar skulls, photographs and mementos of the departed adorn special altars where copal incense is burnt.

For the Manhattan celebration, Mano a Mano recreated the space of a village churchyard and organised a series of events including altar building, workshops, dance, poetry and music sessions.

“The celebration is a great opportunity for New Yorkers to join Mexicans and remember their own departed loved ones by bringing photographs, candles and flowers to adorn the altar throughout the four-day celebration,” said Emily Socolov, executive director of Mano a Mano at the launch of the festival.

On Friday (Oct 30), Mexican dancers from throughout the city assembled at Union Square to walk in procession to the main altar where they paid tribute to young women who had lost their lives in Juarez, Mexico.

About 100 women have reportedly been killed in the border city so far this year, due in part to a war between two major drug cartels for control of smuggling routes.

For people outside the community interested in Mexican traditional arts and culture, the celebration was a learning experience.

Visitors had the opportunity to learn traditional Mexican paper craft, sugar skull and bread-making at several workshops.

On Sunday or All Saints Day, there was a street theatre performance at night by guest artistes La Carpa.

The celebration concluded on Monday with a performance by the Mexican band, Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino.

Support for Mano a Mano was provided by the New York State Council on the Arts Folk Arts Programme, a state agency and the New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

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