The True Spirit

This time of year makes us all too aware of how commercialized holidays can become.

This was on my mind a week and a half ago when I visited the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, to see the annual Día de los Muertos Exhibit, now marking its 30th year.  This holiday is celebrated annually in Mexico at the start of November, when people remember their beloved deceased by gathering at cemeteries in a celebratory spirit.  It combines indigenous Mexican religious beliefs with the Roman Catholic holy day of All Souls' Day.

I make a point to see this exhibit every year, to behold the richness of this profound occasion that honors those who have gone before us.  Every year, there are beautiful ofrendas and other pieces of art honoring different people who have passed on.  They include traditional Mexican ofrendas, like the one in the picture below.

Olegario Pascual Hernández Mendoza (Oaxaca)

Mixteca Offering (Ofrenda Mixteca)

2016

This year's exhibit also had an ofrenda honoring those who perished in the shooting at the night club in Orlando, as well as one honoring a deceased Chicago police officer (see picture below).

Solorio Academy High School (Chicago)

Ofrenda to Officer Eric Solorio

2016

This year's exhibit discussed how 30 years ago, when it first started at the museum, many people were unaware of what the holiday was about, and had trouble understanding such a macabre occasion.  Now, Día de los Muertos has become widely known in the United States, and has become commercialized, with a variety of products available specifically for the occasion (see picture below).

I learned that back in 2013, the Disney company filed a request to trademark the term "Day of the Dead", only to withdraw it after outcry from the Hispanic community.  A satirical poster was on making a statement on what the Disney company attempted (see picture below).

Lalo Alcaraz (California)

Muerto Mouse 

2013

Poster / Cartel

I suppose there's always a risk that something will be turned into an opportunity for making money, especially a significant holiday occasion, which makes it so important to stick to the original purpose as a guide for embracing its meaning.

That's why I'm so pleased that the National Museum of Mexican Art has this annual exhibit, because it's an opportunity for us to remember what this occasion is all about.  They also have a special event for Día de los Muertos that was held for the second time ever back on October 30, in which people from the community can create ofrendas and set them up outside in adjacent Harrison Park, very much like what happens in cemeteries in Mexico.

As we gaze at the ofrendas and other pieces of art that honor those who have departed this life, it gives us the chance to think about those we hold dear in our own lives who are no longer with us.  In the midst of sadness, we can take comfort that they were once with us, and enriched our lives, and that their presence continues in the impact they still make as their memories remain with us.  The artists who contribute to the exhibit do such a wonderful job using their creative abilities to set the tone.  It is my hope that even in the midst of attempts to commercialize the occasion, by continuing with things like this exhibit, the true spirit of the holiday will persist, no matter what.

Thanks to the fellow museum visitor who got this picture of me by the exhibit's entrance.  I am delighted to visit this exhibit each year as a way to connect with a profound part of my heritage.

By the way, the exhibit will be at the museum through December 11.  Please visit the museum's website for more information if you'd like to visit.

Thanks to Raquel, on staff at the museum, who helped arrange approval for me to use the pictures that appear in this post, and provided me with the credit information for the artwork.