Day of the Dead Red Baron

Billy Bishop

Who are the most famous of the World War One flying aces? Immediately the names Billy Bishop, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Manfred von Richtofen come to mind. Of course, to that number we have add the famous nemesis of the Red Baron, the intrepid pilot on whose lips the epithet "Curse you, red Baron" was ever present (well, in his "thought bubble" they were, anyway). I am talking, of course, about that flying beagle. Snoopy!

But there is one more whom we have to add - that overlooked Mexican ace who took off on November the 2nd, the "Day of the Dead", in order to carry out his mission for one of the Mexican rebel armies of the period - likely that of General Francisco "Pancho" Villa, or of the commander of the Liberating Army of the South", General Emiliano Zapata, perhaps.

Eddie Rickenbacker

This was, of course, the "Dead Baron": we are not sure of his name - perhaps Jose Jimenez? - or was it Speedy Hernandez? - (not to be confused with the sprinting mouse, Speedy Gonzalez....)

This guy is piloting - not a Fokker DR-1 or a Sopwith Camel - This is the Jose Cuervo "Sopilote" biplane, not exactly the fastest of most manueverable plane of the period, but possibly one of the most lovingly crafted, perfect for your Day of the Dead altar, or for just a collectible, fun piece. This is an original creation - we invented it. They are going to knock it off, sure as I am sitting here - they always do. But for now, here is the original, from Fausto's Art Gallery in Ojinaga, Chihuahua. The Jose Cuervo airplane plant, by the way, went out of business shortly after the

Manfred von richthofen

war and started making tequila, as most of the workers in the airplane plant were drinking it all the time anyway, so the management could see that there was quite a market for that. But that is another story!

Day of Dead art, specifically the use of calaveras as a way of burlesquing persons and institutions which were normally protected by censorship laws is a tradition that goes back very far, with both roots in the European and Indian traditions of Mexico. The Indian roots are mostly with the dual nature deities, whose “death side” was indicated by skeletal figures - the most famous survivor of that tradition is “La Santisima Muerte”. The European roots go back to the danse macabre and to the work of Hans Holbien the Younger - of whom the great Mexican illustrator Guadalupe Posada might be said to have carried on his traditions and brought them back to life.

Snoopy

Octavio Paz, in his introduction to Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries, says of Posada:

"His subject was the great theater of the world of man, at once drama and farce. He was the engraver and chronicler of the daily scene. His work is vast and diverse, not diffuse. Even with the quantity and variety of his work, he maintained stylistic unity.... Posada's art has humble origins among the caricaturists who illustrated nineteenth-century Mexican newspapers and who were in turn influenced by European caricaturists, especially the French. Posada soon created his own style, endlessly enriched with surprising variations. How to define his technique? A minimum of lines and maximum of expression. By birthright Posada belongs to a manner that has left its stamp on the twentieth century: Expressionism. Unlike the majority of Expressionist artists, however, Posada never took himself seriously."

The Dead Baron

Calling Posada his "artistic father," Diego Rivera decided to pay homage to the late artist in 1948, when he painted a mural at the Hotel del Prado in Mexico City. He painted himself as a young boy holding the hand of Catrina, next to Posada. Frida Kahlo, Rivera's wife, was also featured in the mural, which became a pantheon of the famous and infamous in Mexican history. “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” (1947-48) standing next to the “Catrina”, the caricature skeleton society woman of turn of the century Mexico City (actually, this was caricature of a servant woman wearing the cast-off clothes of her mistress - hardly an egalitarian theme!).

Day of the Dead art recieved a hearty shot in the arm, rocketing into the public eye, thanks to Hollywood, the great Mecca of the new religion of the masses - movies and television and the message it purports - with the release of the film "Frida", with the Mexican goddess of sensuality, Salma Hayak in the lead role. This film was shot through with Day of the Dead imagery, and even with music that purported the same things - the love ballad "La Llorona", which seems to evoke the image of the folk figure of the same name.

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¡Ay! ¡Qúe Fridita esta!
¿Porque andas tan seriacita?
¡Sonríete!

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