Commemorating the Ancestors, Performances of Death at the Tucson All Souls Procession

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Bowditch
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Day Of The Dead ◽  
White Face ◽  
Visual Landscape ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Dense Crowd

At dusk close to 100,000 people clad in black and white face paint and hand-made costumes emerge from all directions marching along a two-mile procession route from Hotel Congress in Tucson, Arizona to the finale site carrying puppets, banners, effigies, floats and posters with photographs of the dead of all shapes and sizes. Crowds of people line the streets; however unlike the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade and other official processions, there are no street barriers separating those marching in the procession and those observing; the lines are porous and blurred. Participants move fluidly in and out of the procession between spectating and marching: dancing, drumming and walking. There is no clear distinction between sidewalk and street; between official performers and spectators—everyone is a participant. There is a somber sense of excitement and anticipation. A large-scale sculptural urn assisted by guardians from the performance troupe Flam Chen weaves through the dense crowd collecting hand-written prayers and offerings from passersby. Day of the Dead motifs of black and white skeletons, flowers, and masks dominate the visual landscape mixed with a fusion of hybrid imagery that evokes death, memory and celebration. Suspended weightlessly above a crowd of fire-lit faces, a figure moves gracefully without a safety net, wrapping her body in aerial silks tethered to helium balloon clusters. Stilted figures in ornate hand-constructed costumes twirl fire to the thundering beating drum. Costumed figures scale the metal tower with torches to light the large paper mache urn, which is filled with the prayers of the entire community. Flames lick up the sides of the urn transforming it into a ball of raging fire; the crowd cheers as they watch their prayers ascend into the darkness. This ritual burning of the urn signifies the culminating act of the Tucson All Souls’ Procession. Flam Chen, pyrotechnic performance troupe from Tucson and Many Mouths One Stomach, the organizers of the event, stage a fire aerial performance followed by the symbolic burning of the urn filled with the community’s prayers and wishes.

Horror and Death: Rethinking Coco's Border Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-49
Author(s):  
Orquidea Morales
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Horror Film ◽  
Walt Disney Company ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Walt Disney ◽  
Day Of The Dead ◽  
Animated Film ◽  
Border Politics ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The U.S

In 2013, the Walt Disney Company submitted an application to trademark “Día de los muertos” (Day of the Dead) as they prepared to launch a holiday themed movie. Almost immediately after this became public Disney faced such strong criticism and backlash they withdrew their petition. By October of 2017 Disney/Pixar released the animated film Coco. Audiences in Mexico and the U.S. praised it's accurate and authentic representation of the celebration of Day of the Dead. In this essay, I argue that despite its generic framing, Coco mobilizes many elements of horror in its account of Miguel's trespassing into the forbidden space of the dead and his transformation into a liminal figure, both dead and alive. Specifically, with its horror so deftly deployed through tropes and images of borders, whether between life and death or the United States and Mexico, Coco falls within a new genre, the border horror film.

Pèlerinages barrésiens

2013 ◽  
pp. 116-123
Author(s):  
Claire Bompaire-Evesque
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
The Self ◽  
Joan Of Arc ◽  
The Third ◽  
National Importance ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Third Stage ◽  
The Dead

This article is a inquiry about how Barrès (1862-1923) handles the religious rite of pilgrimage. Barrès stages in his writings three successive forms of pilgrimage, revealing what is sacred to him at different times. The pilgrimage to a museum or to the birthplace of an artist is typical for the egotism and the humanism of the young Barrès, expressed in the Cult of the Self (1888-1891). After his conversion to nationalism, Barrès tries to unite the sons of France and to instill in them a solemn reverence for “the earth and the dead” ; for that purpose he encourages in French Amities (1903) pilgrimages to historical places of national importance (battlefields; birthplace of Joan of Arc), building what Nora later called the Realms of Memory. The third stage of Barrès’ intellectual evolution is exemplified by The Sacred Hill (1913). In this book the writer celebrates the places where “the Spirit blows”, and proves open to a large scale of spiritual forces, reaching back to paganism and forward to integrative syncretism, which aims at unifying “the entire realm of the sacred”.

Day of the Dead

Grand Street ◽  
1993 ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Stacey Land Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Day Of The Dead ◽  
The Dead

scholarly journals EL CH'ULEL EN LOS ALTOS DE CHIAPAS: ESTADO DE LA CUESTIÓN

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Elena Lunes Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
The State ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Day Of The Dead ◽  
The Dead

El artículo presenta una revisión de la literatura generada alrededor de la noción y concepto de ch’ulel, basada en la cosmovisión tsotsil-tseltal, en el altiplano chiapaneco. De acuerdo con las interpretaciones que los autores han realizado sobre dicho concepto, la información se sistematiza sobre los siguientes significados: ch’ulelcomo alma; en la salud y en la enfermedad; en la conciencia de los niños; como control social; el vayijelal o animal compañero como vela de la vida y como calor. Se distingue el concepto de ch’ulel con ch’ulelal;este último vinculado con la celebración del día de muertos. Se expone en su conjunto y como aporte de este artículo el concepto de Mundo ch’ulel.   SUMMARY The article presents a review of literature generated around the notion and concept of ch’ulel, based on the Tsotsil-Tseltal cosmovision, in the high plains region of the state of Chiapas. According to the interpretations formulated by the authors on said concept, information is systematized on the following meanings: the ch’ulel as soul; in health and in sickness; in the conscience of children; as social control; the vayijelal or companion animal; as candle of life and as heat. The ch’ulel concept is distinguished from that of ch’ulelal, the latter associated with the celebration of the day of the dead.  The concept of “ch’ulel world” is expounded as a whole and as contribution of this article.

scholarly journals An analysis of Indonesian government policies against COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Roziqin ◽  
Syasya Y.F. Mas’udi ◽  
Iradhad T. Sihidi
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Preventive Measure ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indonesian Government ◽  
Social Restriction ◽  
The Government

PurposeCOVID-19 cases in Indonesia continue to increase and spread. This article aims to analyse the Indonesian government policies as a response in dealing with COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachThis article is a narrative analysis with the approach of a systematic literature review.FindingsThis article found that the Indonesian government responded slowly to the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of its spread in March 2020. The government then issued some policies such as physical distancing, large-scale social restriction (PSBB - Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar) and social safety net. These policies will only work if the society follows them. The society could be the key to success of those policies, either as the support or the obstacles.Practical implicationsThis policy analysis with literature review, conducted from March to July 2020 in Indonesia, provides experiences and knowledge in how to respond to the dynamic problems of public policy in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, especially in the context of a developing country.Originality/valueThe novelty of the article lies in the unique policy response in a diverse society. It suggests that the policymakers should pay more attention to the society’s characteristics as well as the mitigation system as a preventive measure and risk management to make clear policy in the society.

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