El Día de los Muertos is for me, above everything else, quite simply "José Guadalupe Posadas Day"--a day to celebrate this Mexican lithographer who died in poverty and obscurity in 1913 but whose work is now famous and revered.
Yes, yes, I know the day is about so much more than his etchings of calaveras (skulls or, more loosely, skeletons), but without Posadas, we would not have these iconic representations of Mexico and this holiday-- no elegant, stiff-boned catrinas (upper-class ladies of the late 19th century) in fabulous, feathered hats, no manic, dancing skeletons who look like they'll jump off the page any second, no skeletal revolutionaries on horseback. Run as political cartoons in the newspapers of his day, Posadas' calaveras not only laugh at death, but were a sneaky retaliation against the powerful and corrupt--reminding everyone who saw them that we all end up in the same place.
To celebrate El Día de los Muertos, I decided to do a little tribute to Posadas in Second Life.
First, Posadas' La Catrina:
La Catrina Marisol:
The 1950s car is a bit anachronistic, but hey, Posadas' work is timeless.
I like this one I took because it's so Twin Peaks creepy:
Posadas' cheeky use of calaveras has inspired untold Mexican artisans, who make fun, irresistible pieces like this:
Which, you may recognize, is Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch:
A Second Life derivative of the two:
And just so you don't think I don't observe the day properly, here is Marisol coming back from the dead to visit her altar...
Notes/Credits:
In the Catrina photos, that's Paper Couture's Orange Blossom Gown and Fallen Tree Branch Hat, both from a few seasons ago (I believe they're still available on XStreet). I am posing at Beneath the Tree that Died, an AM Radio Exhibit. I am wearing Ingenue's Myrna hair and the skin only from the Enchanted Forest of Dyfed shop's Esqueleto Bride Costume.
In the Marilyn photo, I am wearing the Marilyn dress from *ICING* (it comes with grate--invisible or visible--the dress, poses and the gust of wind!), am wearing the skin from the Esqueleto Bride Costume, and Linen Peep Slingbacks from ETD shoes. The place is The Empire State Building - Manhattan. Down the street, to be exact, in front of Tiger's Rare Books, which has a very nice selection of Victorian furniture, antique prints and books (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Search/115/164/22). I was excited that I was able to find the location of the movie The Seven Year Itch--Manhattan--*and* that it was a place where I could rez my awesome wind-whooshing grate. Hair is Bewitched - Boogie Fever.
Finally, in the Altar photo, I have a table full of goodies: Tequila from a place called CAS that has all sorts of food and drink props, the cempasuchil (marigolds) and pan de muerto from Nenny's Garden Centre, the top-hatted sugar skull head which is part of the Dia de los Muertos Male costume from Urban Aly Designs, the fantastic, retro skull print and skull-poofer "plant" are from mudshake. Marisol is wearing Harlow hair from Cake, the skin and shape of Esqueleto Bride and a fabulous Mimikri sweater dress called Mieze. In her dead, skeletal form, Marisol does not do that dress justice.
