Saturday, October 31, 2009

dia de los muertos

This is one of my very favorite holidays. Back in the day, I was raised as a Catholic, on my Irish side. Oh sure, we Celts were pagan, but we had no idea how cool it could be. We never ever dared to party in the graveyard. Never. Little did we know that, like the Mexicans, it was our birthright.

Come to find out, there was an Irishman by the name of William Lamport (b. 1615). He was quite the rake, and a love affair-gone-bad (real bad) caused him to flee all the way to Mexico. Once there, he was outraged by the poverty and degradation of Indians and Africans. Ultimately accused of plotting a war of independence against the government, he was imprisoned. He escaped ten years later and lived as a fugitive, continuing his life and love affairs in the New World. He was eventually captured and sentenced to death by the Inquisition, which launched his name into legendary martyrdom. At the time, his adventurous and charitable lifestyle was well-known, and citizens dubbed him,"El Zorro." Like I said, little did we know.

I have a good collection of DD stuff, including several dioramas; they're my "little altars". As an artist, this "Frieda" one is special to me.


Click on the title of this post for some good video about Dia de los Muertos.

5 comments:

Jala Pfaff said...

Well, look who's been blogging up a storm! Or should I say, during the storm. Or perhaps, creating a storm. By the way, that Groucho Marx quote is one of the funniest things I've ever read. Very Mark Twain-like.

SamArtDog said...

Thanks for noticing.

Groucho and Twain were separated at birth.

Patrice said...

Zorro was Celtic? Good grief!

Love the tale... and the knowses...

SamArtDog said...

Patrice--Good grief, indeed! Those crazy Celts; always running off somewhere. If everyone had just stayed home, this would still be a New World.

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Oh, and how about the Mexican Graveyards. How festive and interesting with all the crypts and crosses and flowers and such. I wanted to paint one in Isla Mujeres, but it was SO DAMN HOT, that I took a swim and a shower instead>