What if you could hear dead people? What themes might there be in what they say? And, would women bring up any particular issues?
My questions may remind you of a scary movie, but I want to bring to mind a holiday depicted in Hollywood movies such as James Bond and Coco: I am writing about El Dia de Muertos/ Day of the Dead.
Please read more about its history here.
As a Latina woman, I am pleased to see how the world celebrates this beautiful Mexican tradition that teaches us to see the relationship between life and death as a conversation that continues.
I attended the festivities for Dia de Muertos in NYC this weekend with my family and had a blast--the decorations were outstanding!
However, I sense that not all families are currently enjoying this holiday as much as we did.
In the movie, one of Coco’s family members sang “Remember me” because maintaining a memory of them at the altar was a requisite for the dead to be able to visit the living.
Yet, for the thousands of families mourning the epidemic of femicide that has been rampant over the last years particularly in Mexico, remembering is not enough. (Read more about the March of the Catrinas)
I wish that the magic of this holiday could allow for justice to hear the voices of those who no longer have them.
