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Nov27
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Nov13
Latinoamerica
Una maravillosa canción que resume las alegrías y dolores de nuestros hermanos pueblos.
Nov2
Día de Muertos in Israel
I woke up this morning feeling like a train would hit me. It is Dia de Muertos in Mexico, a day when remember our loved ones that have passed, and I didn’t have anything prepared for the people who have died in my family.
My cousin Eliú passed away in 2010 after being diagnosed with cancer, it was like one day he had it and the next day he was gone. He was 34 and we loved him so, his death was devastating to our family.
Grandpa was ill and all we wanted for him was for him to pass away in the same dignified way that he had lived his life, but the last months of his illness were terrible. My biggest fear was that he might die alone, not knowing where he was, that he might die not knowing he was among the people who loved him. When he did pass he was sound asleep, peacefull, with no signs of struggle, so we had what we wanted.
So this day was important to me, not just to keep up with my country’s traditions, but to cope with the pain of what my loved ones’ absence changed in my own life. I got up, went to the supermarket in my PJs,
stole soil ad flowers from the neighbours and went home to set up a tiny ofrenda. The mandatory things are: water, soil, salt, flowers and an allusion to death, and its purpose is to lead the dead person’s soul back to its home to be among the living, to feed, to rest and to live through their memory.
stole soil ad flowers from the neighbours and went home to set up a tiny ofrenda. The mandatory things are: water, soil, salt, flowers and an allusion to death, and its purpose is to lead the dead person’s soul back to its home to be among the living, to feed, to rest and to live through their memory.
An offering can be very simple, such as mine, or very elaborate when it’s strictly traditional. The one below is from a little village called Huaquechula (Mx) where this tiny woman was sitting in her chair in front of her late husband’s ofrenda, waiting for him to arrive. The dead arrive at 2pm and leave the next day.
To mexicans sharing is important. We share everything from food to feelings, we share our happiest moments and our hurts equally loud. So I decided to share my humble ofrenda … which turned the whole experience into something very special and much more beautiful than I ever would have expected.
I shared it with you.
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