Dia De Los Muertos Mural

 

As I was heading to the train one morning in East Harlem, I came across a very interesting mural that caught my attention. This specific mural is located directly next to the 116^th street 3^rd Ave 203E building on wood which is covering a metal gate. This mural had a drawing of a sugar skull, a pumpkin, two crows, a graveyard with tombstones, leafless tress and most importantly it had marigolds as the center piece. Observing the mural it had an eerie type of feel to it. The colors were not so bright and uplifting, but instead the colors are seen to be pretty dark and heavy.

After examining this mural, I was immediately reminded that I have seen specific symbolisms represented in these drawings somewhere else. I remember seeing this once when I was in Mexico and my Catholic family from there celebrate El Dia De Los Muertos which translates The Day of the Dead. I’m Mexican American and recognized this is well celebrated tradition because of the traditional marigolds which are seen to be the most symbolic flower for this day. They’re supposed to be place at the entrance of an individual’s home leading up to the alter family members create for their deceased loved ones.  There are many other key factors that play a big role within this celebration such as food. In Mexico, families gather together on November 1^st and 2^nd to go to visit the loved one’s tombstone and place special objects there to signify their remembrances. It is believed that one November 1^st children and teenagers are the spirits that roam around the earth that day, and on November 2^nd it is the adults and elderly’s turn to gather with their loved ones here on earth.

Not only is this a mural, but this is also something individuals actually used to practice this tradition of the Day of the Dead. Next to the big display of Marigolds which are actually made out of gift wrapping tissue it says in small print: “OFRENDA DE DIA DE MUERTOS NO TOCAR GRACIAS”, which means “this is an offering for the Day of the Dead don’t touch thanks”. Since there really isn’t a graveyard around East Harlem and the neighborhood is surrounded by the Latinos, it is best interpreted that the mural is a representation of loved ones who aren’t with one here specifically in the United States, but instead it is seen as tribute to family members from all across the globe. The tradition still remains strong regardless of one’s location.

Lastly, his mural reminds me of the reading for my theology class by Joshua Liebman whom focuses on the idea of death overall. Liebman emphasizes the point that one shouldn’t be afraid of death overall because the concept of death isn’t something supposed to be something scary per se, but instead death is supposed to be seen as our friend. The message one can take away from celebrating the Day of the Dead is very similar to that of Liebman. Death will come to every single individual, but what one should do is not fear it at all because overall that is the circle of life and we will all go through it eventually. One should live their life to the fullest day by day and treasure the loved ones that are gone, but also the ones that are currently still with you here.

The Angel of the Waters

On 72nd Street, almost directly between the East and West side of Central Park sits the Bethesda Fountain. Overlooking the lake, it is swarmed with tourists looking for a picturesque family moment in the summer months. In the winter, with the fountain drained and the trees barren, the terrace offers a sense of stark solitude and the fountain is eerie and stunning. Out of the fountain rises Emma Stebbins’ Angel of the Waters. The sculpture, a reference to the Gospel of John wherein an angel blesses the waters of Bethesda, was designed in 1868 and unveiled in 1873. The statue depicts an angel, wings outstretched, with one hand clutching a lily and the other blessing the water below. Beneath her stand four cherubs personifying Temperance, Health, Purity, and Peace. Stebbins was one of the first prominent female sculptors in America and was the first woman to receive a public art commission in New York City.

Stebbins designed this sculpture four years after Henry Ward Beecher’s Religion and the Beautiful. In this era of industrialization, an increasing middle class emerges who are uncertain how to handle their new surplus of wealth. Faced with the dilemma of materialism distracting you from god and an upbringing claiming that buying nice things for yourself is unchristian, Beecher offers a solution. Beauty is of the divine and there is no sin in elevating your environment. Infact because beauty is of god, surrounding yourself with exquisite things is bringing you closer to god. Beecher’s thinking is in the vein of liberal Protestantism, which offers a more positive outlook on religion. The world around you is not a threat but a gift. You and the world around you are a manifestation of god’s love on Earth.

Stebbins’ Angel of the Waters and the creation of Central Park is Beecher’s idea on a larger scale. Instead of a household, it is now a city spending for its own beautification. In 1853, the New York State Legislature set aside 750 acres in Manhattan to be used in the creation of America’s first major landscaped public park. The 1850’s were a time of prosperity for both New York City and the county. No longer a new nation struggling to get by, the US was now established economically. The city attitude was changed from scraping by to self-improvement, much like its budding new middle class. The establishment of an extensive public park would not only improve public health but would also serve the evolution of the city into a more civil society. The statue also coincides with liberal Protestantism and a more positive outlook. The angel is blessing the city’s water supply, therefore the people of NYC are receiving god’s love and attention. Also, the lily in the angel’s hand signifies purity; an important symbol to the city who suffered a devastating cholera epidemic before the water system was established in 1842. This symbol can be seen as god’s approval and the assurance of a brighter future. Overall, the statute carries a message of both divinity and positivity.

The Bethesda Fountain is one of New York City’s most beautiful landmarks and one of my personal favorites. Besides being visually breath-taking, the statute also offers a religious experience completely removed from a standard religious setting or organization. Appreciating a statute with religious connotations in the middle of a park is starkly different than, say, attending a church service. But both offer a valid connection to a faith. Just by enjoying the Bethesda Fountain and its reference to divinity I am being religious, without having to belong to any specific faith. This expands the meaning of what it is to be religious, but I believe in a more empowering way.  

Commodifying Christmas and The Hijab

New York city is the city of the go getter and the mentality of the city is non-stop. With that being said we all need a little pick me up in order to keep going and that pick me up of choice is usually a cup of Starbucks coffee. You can find one within two blocks of another so it is always readily available. Recently, Starbucks has stirred up (no pun intended) controversy in the media with the removal of “Christmas Symbols” on their holiday red cups. People have been so revved up about it that they have told Starbucks barista’s that their name is “Merry Christmas” so they’d have to write it on the cup. As somewhat of a devout Christian, this makes me shake my head at the American people that made such a fuss about Starbucks’ recent move. It is so sad because these people are fighting to have their “Christmas Symbols” put on a cup that they will drink from for three minutes and then throw away. However, whats even more disappointing is that they are commodifying and reducing the Christmas holiday to merely symbols that aren’t the true focus or meaning of the holiday. These people think they’re putting the “Christ” back in Christmas however it sounds more like they are praising these symbols that don’t make up the entire holiday. 

I saw a connection between this and our reading of Engaged Surrender as we read about the hijab. At one point our anthropologist saw a Muslim woman wearing a hijab in extremely hot weather and wondered why she would still wear it. Little did she know, like many other Americans, that there is much more to “hijab” than just the cloth itself. It is a way of life and promotes modesty. Far too often, like our protagonist, outsiders of the religion reduce the hijab to merely a cloth worn by Muslim women to shield their body parts from the eyes of other men. Furthermore, people usually reduce the entire Muslim religion to the hijab and use it as only a symbol of the religion, when it has its own, complex meaning as well. I’ve also seen many women commodify the hijab in outside cultures as an accessory. They’ve been worn at concerts like Coachella in order to add a little ethnic twist to their outfit, without even considering how devalued the hijab then becomes. 

Far too often in America, we exploit people, things, animals and religions for our own pleasure or delight without recognizing the meaning behind these entities. For instance, the wearing of a rosary as an accessory. In these situations mentioned above, the entire meaning has been drained to make it something lesser than what it really is. I’m guilty of not considering the significance of the hijab and asking the same question of “Why oppress yourself for your husband?” however I do not side with the hoopla that comes with the Starbucks controversy. We need to take the time out to understand the meaning behind and have respect for the symbols we see before we leave them as solely symbols. 

The Train Temple

After a long day of classes and work, I ran to get on the hot, crowded, and sometimes smelly uptown 1 train. Being squished into passengers by other riders attempting to get on the train, I did not have much room to even reach for my cell phone and earphones to listen to music. As a result, I ended up looking around the packed cart. A man in a business suit hovering a book over a short woman with her grocery cart, a woman sitting down attempting to control her screaming child, and a homeless man who had just walked in from the adjacent cart, squeezing by to ask for spare change to buy himself a meal for the night. After the train cart emptied itself a bit, I was able to move around and make myself comfortable enough to hold the pole and balance myself. As I faced the pole I was holding onto, I looked up and saw the following image:

Spotted on the 1 train

I started being on the lookout for more trains with this phrase, thinking it was in vain. Turns out it was not in vain, as in another instance I was presented with this:

Spotted on the N train

The fact that someone decided to write on with white-out or scratch on the phrase “pray” on its own or accompanied by the word “please” on this train was as if he/she transformed this gritty, smelly moving vehicle into a mobile temple.

And that person was not wrong. The MTA trains, a place where all types of commuters ride, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion-- it is the New York temple. It is where we spend a portion of our lives commuting, and in that commute many things occur. We remember significant life events, and get excited to go on a date. We cry over the death of a loved one or the breakup of a significant other as we are on our way to a friend’s place to indulge in Netflix and tubs of ice cream. We get upset because we are getting late to work because of this omnipotent system that somehow controls our time.

This resonates to Henry Ward Beecher’s idea of beauty in everything we see. Although the train is not seen as an object that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it is a place where beauty still exists, as there is still resonance towards the train being a reflection of God. Not only is the train a place where one can practice religion, but the train and its space shares similarities with religious houses of prayers. The idea of how much power the MTA has on its riders also resonates with the idea of religion, as the subway system has a lot of influence on riders even outside the train. Even outside a house of prayer, the effect of religion still does not go away from the believer. The train’s beauty is the fact that it can be a place where many ideas are thought and spread--it is the birth of brilliant concepts, of happiness and anger. These ideas can be be communicated in a grand scale to the public through this mass transit system. Certain parts of its scriptures may not sit well with the believer, and certain passages of its holy book may make some happy in joy, and others cry in anger or sorrow. Both “the train temple” and a regular house of prayer evokes a mix of feelings to its riders/believers. The array of feelings are endless, like the feelings one feels in a house of prayer, and just like the chances of a person of a certain ethnic group, sexual orientation, or religion getting on the train are endless. But at the end of the day, riding the subway is a lifestyle--just like following a certain religion.

The grittiness of the subway also makes these emotions as raw as the vehicle itself. It's feelings felt inside and outside of the train are all authentic and part of the identity of a person--just like how the grittiness that exists on the train is part of the train’s identity. The person’s choice to write the phrase “pray” on a train might have demonstrated their will to leave their mark on the train. Maybe they were thirsty for attention. Perhaps they actually do believe people should pray more often. Beecher would still agree with any of the reasons listed above, because he/she creates a word that might lift someone “up,” and spread the word and beauty of God, through the word “pray,” in this space deemed ugly and smelly.  

But the meaning what prayer means in a place where people are of all different types of places and religions, within a space where many of those different types of people enter the space called the MTA 1 train, can only demonstrate how diverse and authentic everyone’s thoughts and interpretations are--which is what America embraces so much. All in all, this word placed in the New York metropolitan subway is not only a reflection of the different array of people who ride the train daily in a city considered a melting pot, but also a reflection of America. Next time you ride the MTA, do not think of it as a mere vehicle that physically transports you, but able to mentally transport you as well.

Mural on Equality

I was in East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem when I came across the mural presented above. This mural is located at E 117 Street & 2nd Avenue. This mural caught my attention because of two reasons. The first reason because it reminded me of the story of Noah’s Ark from the Bible and second because of the sentence that is written in the bottom. It reads: “Un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos”...this means “A world where many worlds fit”. I feel that this specific message relates very well especially now with everything that is happening all around the world. This message, I feel is very powerful because we want to think of America as a place where we can all come together as one and live in union. We get discouraged because of the things that we currently see and have been seeing throughout the past couple of months. We must come together in order to help and support each other during these tough times.

This mural reminded me of the story of Noah’s Ark because of the big ship with everyone boarded on it. If you look closely, you will notice that unlike the story of Noah’s Ark where God told him to place the animals, this mural has different people from different countries on board. This can resonate very much with the idea of America because we can consider America to be the ship that is in the mural and clearly the people on the ship can be considered the immigrants and individuals that come and that live here in America. We all come to America in order to better our lives. We all have this initial common goal when we come here. When individuals come to America, we have this sense of relief or peace of mind because we know that what is ahead is going to better than what we are currently in. It is definitely not going to be easy, but it will be worth it, hopefully.

Behind the message, we see that there is a depiction of the world...of Earth. I personally feel that we need to remember that we are all equal and that we should all treat each other with respect. We should care for each other, as if it were to ourselves because everyone is human and we all have feelings. No one wants to be treated differently compared to others, they just want to be treated fairly. This is something that we are seeing happen every day and it should be something that we should help to improve because if not, this world will come to an end and so will everyone that is in it as well.

All in all, this mural is reminding us that we should come together like how God intended to love and help one another in order for us to improve and to succeed in our lives. We should really pay much attention to the things that are going on so that we can attempt to make this world a better place.

Transcendence

I had gone into El Museo del Barrio to see one exhibition, Palante, and accidently walked into another, Rodriguez Calero’s  Martyrs and Latter Day Santos.  The series of paintings showcased African American and Latino/Hispanic individuals as saints and martyrs.  All painting subjects wore very casual clothing; the paintings were very expressive of the individuals’ personalities. Many of these people would be overlooked and/or stereotyped if seen on the street, however, here they were portrayed as regal and worth noticing.  This artist highlights the beauty of these people, and grants them strength by portraying and naming them the modern day saints and noting they are worthy of salvation.                                              

The paintings featured a reoccurring color scheme of either: blue, gold, and grey, or black and red. One of the paintings which struck me the most was, Transcendence which used the blue, grey and gold color scheme. It was the first painting I had seen when I walked into the exhibition, and it created a feeling which lingered with me and set the stage for the rest of the paintings.  The blue and the gold contrasted each other very nicely.  The colors are slightly off being complete opposites of each other.  

A grey, thick vertical line centered the painting and a gold strip brushed across the upper part of the painting forming a cross. The composition of the painting is such that regardless of where your eyes enter the painting, you’re forced to look at the center of the cross.  There you finding a man, head bowed.  Aside from the brilliant color scheme, the painting was printed with a very regal design.  This design lays mostly on lines that form the cross, and is therefore draped over the man; this somewhat emulates the idea that after salvation one becomes a son or daughter of the “King of Kings”, giving the individual the status of royalty as well.  The print creates a brilliant juxtaposition because the individual here is dressed in jeans and a tee shirt.

My initial interpretation was that this individual had just come to salvation.  It looked like an impactful and beautiful moment of self-surrendering to the cross and Christ; however, when showing the painting to others, they saw a man peeing on the cross.  According to my interpretation, this salvation story seems very humble. It also seemed like a hesitant sacrifice, where perhaps after some bargaining with God, this man just gave in.  His shoulders fall heavy, I’m sure weighed down by the burdens of life, however there is a happy feeling to it, perhaps because of the bright blue.

Compared to other salvation stories, like that of John, from Go Tell it on the Mountain or the experience of Jarena Lee, this one seemed pretty different. When John was saved, he was thrown on the floor, had visions and was confronted by his sin and fears and hatred. Similarly, Jerana Lee’s salvation story included visions and other worldly powers, so what causes these different denominations to have such different stories? My salvation story differs greatly from the other three.  Does the fact that their testimonies differ so much take away from accuracy of their experience, or does it add a level of uniqueness and individuality of each relationship with God?  Although the answer to this is unclear, it is clear through collections and artifacts like these that these experiences are real, pivotal and powerful moments to those who have them. 

Getting in the Christmas Spirit Through Holiday Donations

Christmas time in New York City is quite the spectacle. Many come from various places around the country and the world to see how this city celebrates the holiday. One of the big features here in New York is the Salvation Army Red Kettle Donation collectors. It is hard to visit without noticing them because they are placed throughout the whole city.

The Salvation Army Red Kettle.

The history of the Salvation Army red kettle goes all the way back to 1891. Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee wanted to do something about the number of poor and hungry individuals in San Francisco. It was his goal to provide a free Christmas dinner for those in poverty. His only issue was figuring out how to fund the project. He recalled a memory from when he was a sailor and lived in England. There was an area called Stage Landing, where boats came in. In that area was a large iron kettle called “Simpson’s Pot,” which urged people to donate a coin or two to help the poor. This was the kick-starter idea for McFee, and he placed a pot in a similar place in San Francisco with a sign that read, “Keep the Pot Boiling.” This created the funds he needed to provide the Christmas dinner to the impoverished. This idea spread across the country to many other charities.

Once the Christmas season officially begins, the Salvation Army kettles are found practically everywhere around New York City. Each station is a little different depending on the collector(s). Some stations have one collector and others have two or three. The collectors wear either a black uniform or a red apron to signify that they are official Salvation Army workers. They all have red kettles, which is where patrons are encouraged to drop their donations. The collector holds a bell, which they ring to attract attention and get donations from passers-by. Some of the collectors have a speaker. They spread holiday cheer by playing Christmas music. I have noticed that most of the collectors in areas of high tourist traffic, like Rockefeller Center and Bryant Park, have turned the act of collecting donations into a performance. The collectors blast their Christmas music to draw people in. This really entices people and helps bring in donations. They dance along to the music and encourage others to dance along with them. The more the collector gets into his or her performance, the easier it is for them to get donations.

The Salvation Army kettle collections help people get into the Christmas spirit, and one could argue that is what Christmas is all about. Christmas is the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I believe that the Salvation Army’s collection of donations to supply the poor and hungry with a Christmas dinner is in reflection of Christ’s way of life. It also allows those less fortunate to participate in the festivity of the holiday that commemorates Christ’s birth. The Salvation Army truly goes above and beyond to make sure that people don’t forget what Christmas is really about.

The Salvation Army collectors performing at Rockefeller Center on December 9, 2015.