For about the past two weeks there has been one that has been in the minds and hearts of many people here in Ecuador, and that is the long weekend that is happening this week for Day of the Dead. Its kind of lumped together with Halloween a bit, but its definitley more important than Halloween here. Part of the celebration is that people go to mass to honor the dead, or take flowers or treats to the cemeteries. The most important food associated with this holiday is a drink called Colada Morada and this bread which is called a guagua de pan. Colada Morada is a purple drink made of about every fruit imaginable, and is served hot. Guaguas de pan literally means “bread children” and kind of looks like a large gingerbread man without arms or legs. I have had this at least once every day for the past week!!!!
The program where I work here also had a day for the kids to decorate guaguas de pan! They were so hyper after the sugar overload.
Since I have had a little free time over the holiday I took advantage of an unoccupied morning to visit a museum which I had heard was really good. I went only expecting to find some great art, but amazingly I found a link to art activism. The museum was dedicated to works by Guayasamin, who was an artist who used his work to speak out against political injustice and also bring consciousness to the sufferings of indigenous and African peoples of Ecuador. Here is a quote of his that I found very inspiring and fitting to the ideal of using art as a form of activism.
“For the Children that death took while playing, for the men that weaken while working, for the poor that fail while loving, I will paint with the gun scream, with the thunder potency and with the eagerness of battle”
-Guayasamin
Wow, a great summary of what power art can hold to speak out against injustice. Watch out, because you never know when inspiration will strike!