| BOOK REVIEW
 DAY
OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO
THROUGH THE EYES OF THE SOUL
by Mary Andrade
La Oferta Review Newspapers, Inc. ISBN 0-9665876-2-6
Book I - Michoacan
Book II - Oaxaca
Book III - Mexico City, Mixquic & Morelos
To Mary Andrade, Dia de los Muertos--Day of the Dead--is the essence of
life in Mexico. One of the most traditional and well-known holidays in
Mexico, Day of the Dead is celebrated throughout the country, from large
cities to small villages, each in its unique way, as Mexicans pay
tribute to death and their departed ancestors
Andrade began her voyage
of discovery about the Day of the Dead while working on a research
project in Janitzio, Michoacan, in 1987. She fell in love with the
celebration and Day of the Dead has now become her passion. Each year,
she travels to a different region of Mexico to collect information and
make photographs of this unique celebration.
What sets Andrade's book
series apart from any other writing on this subject is her photographs–
vivid images full of compassion and love for Mexico and its people. In
them, the reader encounters not only the ofrendas, the decorative altars
that make this Mexican holiday famous, but also the festive clothing and
accessories that reflect the color and meaning of the day.
Andrade also captures the
celebration through the faces of countless Mexicans and their families
in their most sacred hour–in communion with their friends, relatives
and deceased loved ones that helped create the life they now enjoy.
Each book opens with a
history of the Day of the Dead in that particular region and goes on to
weave a tapestry of culture, history and sociological insight through
its text and spectacular photographs.
She explains not only how
but why each region of Mexico honors the memory of its deceased in a
unique way. She shows the colors, foods, and artistic decorations of
each region, even though each of these celebrations have the same roots.
Her photographs, each composed with a sensitive, artistic eye, show the
reader the rich traditions of this holiday as they're tied to the
Mexican soul.
These books come as close
as any can to providing a window into Mexican life. Anyone fascinated
with Mexico in general and the Day of the Dead in particular, will enjoy
reading these books again and again.
Andrade is currently
planning her fourth book in this series covering Day of the Dead in the
States of Puebla, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosi, and Hidalgo. |
Visitors
and locals scream, sing, shout and dance amid confetti and ribbons.
Bands of all kinds play the infectious rhythms of the State of Sinaloa.
And the food–oh, the food–camarones (shrimp) prepared in
every way possible, washed down with ice cold Pacifico beer, for it’s
Carnaval Time, Mazatlán’s biggest pachanga (fiesta).