Day of the Dead Murals VII

The Murals of Jalatlaco

Mural number VII is as well Day of the Dead Mural number III by Bouler. (He is currently painting yet another day of the dead mural on Pino Suarez which I will add at the end of this series.) This is a very large mural covering a building front of about 35 feet, a double door for coches, another section of wall, a short building front, and a final last door. It must go on for bout 70 feet.

In the center section we have a view of the street we have been traveling, Hildalgo, the cobblestone or river stone streets of Jalatlaco, the church, a hearse on its way to the church, and one of the two trees that are the prime feature of the church yard. In the lower left corner there is a larger than life woman in a guelagetza costume and with ribbons plaited in her hair. The church, San Matias, is in constant use with weddings, funerals, christenings, etc etc etc and each party brings its own brass band, guelagetza girls, dancing dolls, and of course! Fireworks.

Above her is a dog whose significance eludes me...unless it is one of the ubiquitous Jalatlaco street dogs. Above him is some fecund vegetation with a tree on the other side of the wall spreading over it. I have often wondered if this is life imitating art or art imitating life.

The mural is not signed but there is a fedora lying in the churchyard and as Bouler is a hat person I suspect this is his signature here. He not only wears but sells hats and his leather hats have his designs carved into them.

Continuing to the right we have a dancing skeleton couple and this is one of Boluer’s iconic images. These are available as tee shirts, cups, etc. Please notice that once again we see a bottle of mezcal and a shot glass. To the right of that the mural comes to an end with an arrangement of day of the dead flowers. I would think this mural has been here for a few years. During that time the flowers have lost all their color.

On the flat ground Bouler has given us a sky full of the shaving brush flowers of the church yard trees. They are fringe like, about three inches long, and fuchsia colored. They begin blooming in February and are at their high pitch in March. They bloom one day and then fall to the ground. And like the churchyard the ground here is filled with falling flowers. Attracted by the color children collect them in piles. At five in the morning the street sweepers do a circuit of the church yard and collect them a second time and toss them out. And thus begins another day here in Jalatlaco!