The Dead have returned to their homes until next year. After experiencing El Dia del los Muertos so intensely last year in Oaxaca, my perspective on death and culture has changed dramatically for the better. I regret not setting up an ofrenda. The Dead are gracious guests, but they need an invitation.
Just recently, Don Ishmael of Santa Catarina Minas, just west of Ocotlan, died after a long and prosperous life.
He was a master mescal maker and his family's palenque will continue to produce some of the finest mescals. Mescal is at the very heart of Oaxacan culture. The maguey or agave is a magical plant and has provided Mexico with water, paper, needle, thread, clothes, building materials and alcohol for hundreds of years. Don Ishmael was a living connection to those centuries. They drank his mescal at his graveside.
The Dead have returned to their homes until next year. After experiencing El Dia del los Muertos so intensely last year in Oaxaca, my perspective on death and culture has changed dramatically for the better. I regret not setting up an ofrenda. The Dead are gracious guests, but they need an invitation.
Just recently, Don Ishmael of Santa Catarina Minas, just west of Ocotlan, died after a long and prosperous life.
He was a master mescal maker and his family's palenque will continue to produce some of the finest mescals. Mescal is at the very heart of Oaxacan culture. The maguey or agave is a magical plant and has provided Mexico with water, paper, needle, thread, clothes, building materials and alcohol for hundreds of years. Don Ishmael was a living connection to those centuries. They drank his mescal at his graveside.
1 comment:
Que en paz descanse. I will miss him. Thanks for remembering him here.
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