aprilseye: For all people who are considering...

For all people who are considering painting their face as Dia de los Muertos skulls on HALLOWEEN, pleaseeeee reconsider!

Dia de los Muertos is a sacred tradition and holiday that traces back to our indigenous roots.

Halloween on the other hand is different and is celebrated in different ways here in the U.S. that is no where near in relation to Dia de los Muertos. Painting your face then can be offensive for several reasons:

1. It is offensive to the people who actually celebrate it. By showing up with a “cool” and “unique” costume while completely ignoring the meaning of Dia de los Muertos (to pay respect to ancestors) you are practicing a form of power and oppression. [*EDIT* If you decide to paint your face in this way without fully understanding the meaning of Dia de Los Muertos and do not participate in it, then you are practicing a form of ignorance and oppression.] Cultural appropriation has been used enough in U.S. Halloween celebrations. Look at all the “Native American,” “Indian,” “Geisha,” “Mexican,” costumes. Just because your skull make up is new and is “prettier,” it doesn’t mean its any less racist or ignorant. [*EDIT* I thought these two were pretty similar arguments.^]

2. “But I’m Mexican..” “But I’m Latina..” Remember that racism is not only practiced in the U.S., but also in Mexico. Just because you are bicultural, it does not always mean that you are accepting of your indigenous roots. In my family, my grandma used to call my mom, “pinche India,” when they got in an argument, even though they are both Mexican. My mom however got called out because she has darker skin. [*EDIT* I personalized this as an example. What I mean to say is that there is a type of erasure that goes on with some Mexicans/Chican@s. Not all Mexicans/Chican@s participate Dia de los Muertos. And yet, some that I know do not celebrate this holiday still decide to paint their face this way for Halloween. This case then to me is a form of appropriation, because it in my opinion it is like a person who “appears” white, yet takes photos with Native American headdresses or feathers etc. The term then “But I’m Mexican…” reminds me of someone who can pass as white and says, “But I’m 1/4 Cherokee…” To note, racism in America is different than in Mexico! AlsoI think this is different than Mexicans/Chican@s who actually do celebrate Dia de los Muertos and decide to paint their faces on Halloween. Just like all white people are not aware of their social locations or white privileges, not all Mexicans/Chican@s are aware of theirs as well. Also social location plays a key role. I think it may be different to paint your face for Halloween if you are in a community that honors and collectively celebrates Dia de Los Muertos than if you were say in the middle of Temecula, San Diego where a majority of Mexicanos/Chican@s do NOT celebrate it. Thus it can be problematic and dangerous and this leads to point #3]

3. By wearing this face paint on a day where everyone is going to be wearing costumes, you prolly wont have the time to educate people on what Dia de los Muertos means. As a result, people who have no prior knowledge about Day of the Dead may think, “oh that’s a neat costume for next year,” and will continue this cycle and appropriate it themselves.

It’s not my place to tell you what Dia de los Muertos means. It’s also not my responsibility to teach you about cultural appropriation. Just look it up. Think about your intentions. Of course most people who are thinking of doing this do not mean to offend, but in the end it does.

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Notes and Questions:

-HERE is an updated post on where my objective point of view comes from.

-I’ve read a lot on “But what if you are inspired by this culture…” (WILL ADD MORE LATER on my response to this)

-I deleted the photo I originally posted - 1) Because I did not originally look up the creator of the photo that I used and did not give credit nor did I look up the photographer’s intentions in the first place 2) Because people are deleting my text and posting up the photo alone - However I was able to actually find a few pictures of Day of the Dead “costumes” that are on sale online for 54.99! How interesting and my new pic is one of them ^

-Also, I do not attempt to speak for ALL Chican@s/Latin@s. There is no one representative for such a large group of people.

-Please for those who disagree with my point of view, please note that I am merely asking for a reexamination of your intentions-I am not assuming that all people who paint their faces are ignorant because I know some face painting on Halloween can be viewed differently in various communities

-Perhaps THIS POST may better describe how I feel about this topic

I disagree with point #2. You can celebrate it solo style even if yr geographical community does not. You can celebrate it if you are Mexican and do not get called India like the the example provided. I’m not for policing other latin@/Chican@ indigenous realizations of how dia de los muertos connected them to their beliefs. I agree that a latin@ can mis-represent the calavera on halloween And I disagree on point #3. in no way shape or form will I educate someone else on why I chose /how I celebrate dia de los muertos so if and when they see calaveras on myself/person/ clothes/ tattoos/ art I don’t care how they read it.

(via platanos-fritos)

6.29.12. this should always be on my dash,always reblog,

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