No one is deader than the forgotten
Gregorio Marañón
Let's face it, for most of us the word "death" is horrible, and I'm not just referring to its meaning, because even phonetically, it sounds ugly! Of course, let's also admit that this appreciation is strictly linked to the emotional charge that we learned to give to it:
Uncertainty, separation, absence, fear and pain.
What do I mean…
Let us imagine for a moment that, when we were children, we saw a joyful farewell party for each of the relatives who passed away; that the films starring “La Pelona” were not classified as drama, suspense or horror, but as comedy; that in books the end of existence was represented as an expected and pleasant journey; that the death of our loved ones was just a matter of not seeing their bodies anymore, because we continued to feel their warm presence; or that mourning was symbolized by clarity, smiles and bright colors.
If that had been the case… wouldn't we have a different relationship with death?
I don't know about you, but I am absolutely sure that if we had learned something else, the term in question could have the same beauty as the word LIFE.
Yo, que le entro de frente al místico, de adulta opté por expresiones como trascendencia o cambio de plano y más recientemente decidí que mis muertos, por lo menos los más cercanos, no se fueron a ninguna parte, sino que se hicieron invisibles y aquí van conmigo, ocupando sus puestos en el vagón del metro, mientras me acompañan, me guían y me protegen… además, desde que Disney decidió contarnos la historia, a través de los ojos y la guitarra de Miguel, el tierno bisnieto de COCO, mis creencias encontraron el sustento perfecto.
Según la Real Academia de la Lengua Española (RAE), la muerte es «la extinción de la vida«… ante un hecho tan contundente, cada quien decide sus interpretaciones y reacciones, pero si tengo que aferrarme a una de las mil teorías que existen, prefiero quedarme con aquella que me recuerda la importancia de honrar a mis ancestros.
Those of us who have lost a loved one know that remembering them is not a matter of calendar; even so, around the world and regardless of the religion professed, there are official days for devotees and non-believers to commemorate their deceased:
- Ching Ming – April 4 or 5 (Chinese Day of the Dead)
- Gai Jatra – between August and September (or Cow Procession; Nepalese Day of the Dead celebration)
- Mahalaya – September 15 (Hindu ceremony to evoke past spirits; date varies, depending on the moon)
- Halloween – October 31 (All Hallows’ Eve)
- Samhain – October 31 (Celtic festival of transition and opening to the other world)
- All Saints’ Day – November 1 (Ibero-American religious holiday)
- All Souls’ Day – November 2 (Ibero-American religious holiday)
- Day of the Dead – November 1 and 2 (Mexican pagan holiday)
- Fet Gede – November 2 (or All Souls’ Day, Haitian voodoo celebration)… among others.
For most cultures, venerating the deceased and wishing them eternal rest is something deeply rooted, including the most diverse traditions, such as changing the clothes of mummified relatives, hanging willow branches so that they do not return turned into yellow dogs, or building a cow with cloth, paper, bamboo and portraits of the deceased, then parading it through the streets, accompanied by children who drink milk and wear costumes representing the same bovine.
For those of us who speak Spanish, everything is a little simpler and is concentrated in the first days of November.
The Día de Muertos, Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad, tiene su «cuartel general» en nuestro «México lindo y querido», con unos orígenes prehispánicos y algo macabros, relacionados con la conservación de cráneos como trofeos, para mostrarlos en los rituales que simbolizaban la muerte y el renacimiento… pero ya se dejaron de eso! En el presente, la celebración es tan colorida y entrañable, como el fiel retrato que la factoría de Mickey Mouse hizo de ella.
Thanks to the large Mexican community that lives in the Spanish capital, this first Friday of the penultimate month of 2018, La Tabacalera de Lavapiéswill be filled with tradition, music, flavor and color, with a party that will have as its generating concept, the Spanish and naturalized Mexican painter Remedios Varo.
The program for that day will include a craft market, a food market, mariachis, performances and other artistic interventions, as well as an altar contest, a photography contest and, of course, a catrina costume contest.
As for the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, although stories of witches and ghosts abound and we all have a tale about having heard or seen “something,” pagan festivals are still officially rejected.
That is why, despite the existence of the Day of the Faithful Departed, a religious commemoration, where we pray for those who are stuck in Purgatory, the holiday of November 1st, known by all as All Saints' Day, where we celebrate those who have already passed the celestial transit zone, is much more important... come on, we put on a party (with a day off included), only for those who had their passport stamped by Saint Peter!
In Spain the celebration of the dead (saints or not) also has its aspects:
- Gaztañarre Eguna, in the Basque Country
- Jacket Day, in Extremadura
- Maroween, in Nerja, Málaga
- All Saints' Day Festival in Cádiz
- La Castanyada, in Catalonia
- Nochi Los Dijuntos, in Cantabria
- The Night of the Finaos in the Canary Islands
- Fira de Tots Sants, inCocentaina, Alicante, or
- Samain in Galicia, among others…
Special mention should be made of Monte de las Ánimas in Soria, a festival in honour of the poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, author of the work and namesake of our guide Gus. In this celebration, inspired by the aforementioned mountain in the Castilian province, the terrifying legend is read in front of the heat of a bonfire, and then the bravest are allowed to walk barefoot on the blanket of embers.
In any case, in addition to eating panellets, chestnuts, wind fritters, aniseed doughnuts or saints' bones, taking flowers to cemeteries and enjoying the rites, rituals and customs of each region is usually the option of those who wish to take advantage of the date to remember their loved ones.
My choice will continue to be to think of my loved ones, without sadness and without the limit of a number in the agenda… mourning is an indispensable process, but once a reasonable time has passed, we should remember the dead as beings of light, who have retired to a better place, because although melancholy and longing are understandable emotions, the dead also have the right to be remembered with joy!
