Dia de los Muertos

ZOELAB DAY 62

It’s the first day of November. It’s also Dia de los Muertos. A day whereMexicans honor the dead. The two most recently deceased beings I know are Bashi, our friend Bruce’s white german shepard, and Da Sol, our friend Omar’s blue healer. Bashi died on Tuesday, October 23rd of old age, and complications arising from that old age. In the last year of her life, Bashi’s two hind legs no longer worked, but she was still able, miraculously, to swim and walk around by dragging her legs behind her. Da Sol, who was also quite old, died a few weeks ago shortly after receiving a hard kick from the neighborhood donkey, Einstein. Lucas and his sister, Emilia buried Bashi in the dark, on our land. Her owner was in Vera Cruz making his yearly pilgrimage to traditional parts of mainland Mexico to capture the enigmatically beautiful Dia de Los Muertos festivities. He owns the plot of land next to us, but the land was undiggable there, so she is resting very close to her home.

Because he is respectful, and speaks excellent spanish, Bruce has been given access to the some intimate moments of the reverent and ancient practices of honoring the dead. Some day, I would like to go with Bruce to witness the traditional Dia de Los Muertos celebrations. In the meantime, I can look at his vast collection of colorful and solemnly dignified images, which I had the privilege of working with closely when I designed his website. For our wedding present, Bruce gave us a large photo depicting hundreds of observers of the holiday in Chiapas. See below.

Day of the Dead, San Juan Camula, Chiapas by Bruce Herman