Ometochtli- Dualidad de Mexico

It's a strange time to be here in mexico. It's a well known fact that there is an emphasis on duality in Mexico, and right now that duality is amplified. Just finished are the celebrations of Dia de Los Muertos, which are a prime example of this internal contradiction. Children ran around the streets dressed as ghosts, munching on sugary skulls (because "death should be sweet")We attended Ofrendas (when people have a family member who has died, they open their doors to the public, build a shrine to the deceased and provide food and beverages to those who stop by to pay their respects), an installation explaining the history of Dia de los Muertos in Mexico, a Catrina Exhibit (Catrina, aka La Flaca, is a skeleton who represents death. She is often dressed up in fancy dresses to show the impermanence of physical beauty. Sadly, I forgot my camera). Below is an ofrenda to those who have died injustly by the hands of the government:

After two days of solemn yet some how light-hearted celebration, we went to a party where we "celebrated life". I highly doubt this is an official part of Dia de Los Muertos, but when the holidays fall on a weekend like they did this year, I imagine a fiesta to close off the celebrations is pretty much universal amongst the youth here. In our particular case, it was the birthday party of a friend of one of the poets. It was a great opportunity for me to immerse myself in the artistic and bohemian culture in the city and to get a feel for what the arts scene is like here. One thing I've noticed is that Cuernavaca seems to be hugely involved in the visual and video arts, which is great for me as I am attempting to make this documentary. At the party there were all kinds of dancers, musicians, poets and artists. There were even fire dancers:

Although I was initially a bit hesitant about being here in Mexico, I'm slowly beginning to realize that this is the part of my fellowship where I will learn more about other people and other cultures and how I exist in those cultures. Poetry is here, of course, and its going to be interesting to see how a slam scene is "born". But I think the emphasis here is less on the poetry per se, and more on how issues of social justice and political views are therefore expressed through the poetry. Luckily for me, that's what I think I want to focus on anyway.
Tomorrow we go to Tepotzlan, a nearby town to view some ruins and learn about the native culture which existed before the spanish invasion, and understand how certain aspects of that culture still survive within the context of modern "western" culture.