Opening of the exhibition “Day of the dead”

Ambassador Lomónaco,
Ladies and gentlemen,

A warm welcome to the opening of the exhibition “Day of the Dead”. I sincerely thank the Permanent Mission of Mexico for initiating this colourful exhibition and the Mexican artist Sergio Hernandez for sharing his work with us.

“El Día de los Muertos”, or the “Day of the Dead” which takes place each year from the end of October to the beginning of November is a Mexican celebration of dead ancestors. For Mexico’s indigenous communities el Día de los Muertos commemorates the transitory return to Earth of deceased relatives and loved ones. This period also marks the completion of the annual cycle of cultivation of maize, the country’s predominant food crop.

Similar festivities exist elsewhere, in Europe, Asia and Africa, to celebrate the harvest season or dead ancestors. In Mexico, as you can see from the colourfully dressed up skeletons on the altar, it is not a solemn or morbid occasion but rather a celebration of lives past and lives to come. From young age, children are treated to sweets in the shape of skulls and skeletons and generations of well-known Mexican artists have presented skeletons in every-day situations – to show that death is also part of life.

Since 2008 this festivity has been inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Families take great care with the preparations of this event, laying flower petals, candles and offerings along the path leading from the cemetery to their homes. The deceased’s favourite dishes are prepared and placed around the home shrine and the tomb alongside flowers and typical handicrafts, such as paper cut-outs. According to the belief, the dead are capable of bringing prosperity or misfortune upon their families depending on how satisfactorily the rituals are executed.

The exhibition we inaugurate today features paintings by Mexican artist Sergio Hernández. Born in 1957 in Oaxaca, he attended various art schools and academies. His work is influenced by his Mixteca origins, his native ethnic group. His varied artistic production has included printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, painting, and drawing. Hernandez has developed an international reputation as an exponent of Mexican vanguardism. His work has been presented in over 70 exhibitions in more than ten countries, and can be found in museums and private collections in Mexico and the world. We are very happy that his works are now enriching our cultural activities programme here at the Palais des Nations.

I invite you to be as joyful as our skeletons here on the altar, and to rejoice with us in the festivities of el “Día de los Muertos”, cherishing the dead and cherishing life.

Thank you and enjoy the evening.