“La Muerte Sonriente”: Humorous Play Imagery of Death in Mexican and Mexican-American Cultures

Abstract

The article focuses on the research of the sources, artistic distinctiveness, symbolism and functions of humorous play imagery of Death in Mexican and Mexican-American cultures based on mythology, folklore, music, traditional food, crafts and different forms of mass culture (caricatures, advertisement, internet, puppet installations). The concept of “La Muerte Sonriente” is regarded as a synthesis of the following historical and cultural components: the ancient Mesoamerican tradition of veneration of the Death as a deity and the idea of duality; the traditions of Medieval Europe (carnival forms, the macabre dance and Catholic traditions of All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day); the art of J.G. Posada and its development in Mexican folklore. The author comes to the conclusion, that the humorous play imagery of Death being a key “expression of Mexican spirit” has the following functions in Mexican and Chicano cultures: the transmission of the traditional worldview and values, the actualization of family and historical memory, establishing live connection with ancestors, as well as educating, ritual, entertaining, advertising and identity functions. The concept of “La Muerte Sonriente” has a special significance for Mexican-Americans in the process of their ethno-cultural identification, in marking borders of Chicano world in the national culture of the USA and in the actualization of a cultural dialogue with the motherland.

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