Happy #DayOfTheDead / #DíaDeMuertos !
One of the things you might not know is that most of the modern iconography of the celebration comes from José Guadalupe Posada, a political litographist who drew Mexican society as dead skeletons as satire of social inequality. After all, rich or dead, in the end we're all skeletons.
The political tradition of Day of the Dead lives on to this day. Every year, on Mexico Day of the Dead, newspapers publish calaveritas literarias (little literary skulls), which are short poems alluding to death that mock politicians and other public figures.
In these poems, death is seldom referred to by her name ("muerte" is feminine in Spanish), but by Voldemortisms like "the bony one" (la huesuda) or "the skinny one" (la flaca). She's frequently playful but always final.
And here is a sample of some #calaveritas published this year! Most newspapers and political magazines join in on the fun, to remember what our politicians have messed up and to remember that in the end, they will all die.
https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/las-calaveritas-de-los-columnistas-de-el-universal
https://www.etcetera.com.mx/opinion/calaveritas-2019-prensa-oposicion-4t/
https://www.diariodequeretaro.com.mx/cultura/calaveritas-2019-de-diario-de-queretaro-4398225.html
https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2019/10/29/mexico/1572316446_297868.html
Here's one that's really cute!
Do you remember Frida, the rescue dog who worked to help find survivors after the Mexico City earthquake? She got popular because she looks cute in her rescue gear.
She retired this year at the ripe age of 10 dog years. Here's a calaverita to commemorate her.
I'll now do a translation, without attempting to match rhyme or metre.
Frida, The Rescue Doggie
Cats have seven lives [in Mexican lore],
Dogs only have one
Although amongst four-legged heroes,
There's none like Frida.
The Bony One has noticed the rescue doggie
With her glasses and booties, no missions can thwart her
This year Miss Frida retires, the canine,
She has been a workplace hassle for the baldy Catrina
After 10 years, her rest has come
Thanks Fridikens, may your days be full of relaxation
The Catrina wants to take Frida to the grave,
Because Frida saved many humans in the earthquake
"Little doggie, let's take stroll in the Great Beyond,"
Be careful, Bony One, or Miss Frida will bite you.
@JordiGH *tries to work out the original poem's syllable counts under Spanish-language poetry rules*
*comes out perplexed*
@JordiGH Cats can live through seven lives,
while dogs get only one.
But when it comes to heroes
like Frida, there are none.
Miss Bones has seen this doggy,
her eyes and paws both shielded.
This year Miss Frida retires,
the dog who's never yielded.
Ten years, she's fought Bald Beauty,
and now her rest has come.
Dear Friducha, we thank you,
for our lives and then some.
Bald Beauty wants to take her,
our savior from the quake.
"Doggy, come with me," she calls.
But Bones, Frida might break.
@skysailor Really cute!
You don't like translating "Friducha"? The endearing suffix doesn't mean anything to English ears.
JordiGH
Bunny Jane's Humansona
Sky, Cozy Goth Prince of Cats