Canon Coche de los Muertos (Car of the Dead)

Location
Talent, Oregon (far from the madding crowd)
Name
Miguel Tejada-Flores
So, I go for a walk downtown in the small Oregon town where I live, walking down to the Post Office to mail a letter. And just before I get there, I see...an amazing old car. Parked by an old house. Not going anywhere.

In Mexico, traditionally, instead of celebrating Halloween, or All-Saints Day, Día de los Muertos - the Day of the Dead - is celebrated on November 2. A day when the dead come back to earth to mingle with the living, to party and eat and enjoy the company of the warm-blooded they have left behind. Mexican folk art is filled with wonderful drawings, paintings and sculptures of Las Calaveras - the skeleton dead people who inhabit the other world - aka los Muertos, or 'the Dead'. And, obviously, honoring the Dead is not just limited to México - because this coche (the Spanish word for 'car') that I saw, sitting parked in a small Oregon town -

Was a living automotive Art Gallery of Día de los Muertos. So, obviously, it is a Coche de los Muertos -

And since I had my semi-pocketable Canon G1x Mk3 with me (tucked inside my semi-pocket) --- I had to take a few photos - and once I started, it was hard to stop.

MuertoCar#1-Ektachr100VS.jpg


I had to get a little closer ...

MuertoCar#2-Ektachr100VS.jpg


MuertoCar#3-Ektachr100VS.jpg


MuertoCar#4-Ektachr100VS.jpg


Finally coming all the way around in front. The 24mm FOV equivalent wide-angle end of the zoom on my G1x3 somehow seemed just right -

MuertoCar#5-Ektachr100VS.jpg


The more you look at it, the more you want to start dancing -

MuertoCar#6-Ektachr100VS.jpg


MuertoCar#7-Ektachr100VS.jpg


- or swimming -

MuertoCar#8-Ektachr100VS.jpg


It's a very old car. Not just a Coche de los Muertos - but a semi-muerto Coche in its own right.

MuertoCar#9-Ektachr100VS.jpg


And, really - ¿who knew that Calaveras liked the ocean dwellers so much?

MuertoCar#10-Ektachr100VS.jpg


When I was done photographing, I learned a thing or three. Including that los Muertos - and their cars - have their own Code of behavior to live up to. Even if it's only for one long day - and longer night - every year.

MuertoCar#11-Ektachr100VS.jpg
 
Hey, that's the real deal. Looks like a nice old Packard, back when they were the primo car.

Been to Dia de los Muertos a few times in Partzcuaro. The Perepechas are some serious folks. The two nights are magical and mystical. I built an altar in my B and B for my father-in-law with the beer and cigarettes, Marigolds, Baby's Breath and so on and sat up for most of the night. He was not Mexican but he was un Hombre. It was better I did it.

I ran across this fellow today, obviously getting ready to drive to Michoacán for the next Dia. He has the right spirit, animo!


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So, I go for a walk downtown in the small Oregon town where I live, walking down to the Post Office to mail a letter. And just before I get there, I see...an amazing old car. Parked by an old house. Not going anywhere.

In Mexico, traditionally, instead of celebrating Halloween, or All-Saints Day, Día de los Muertos - the Day of the Dead - is celebrated on November 2. A day when the dead come back to earth to mingle with the living, to party and eat and enjoy the company of the warm-blooded they have left behind. Mexican folk art is filled with wonderful drawings, paintings and sculptures of Las Calaveras - the skeleton dead people who inhabit the other world - aka los Muertos, or 'the Dead'. And, obviously, honoring the Dead is not just limited to México - because this coche (the Spanish word for 'car') that I saw, sitting parked in a small Oregon town -

Was a living automotive Art Gallery of Día de los Muertos. So, obviously, it is a Coche de los Muertos -

And since I had my semi-pocketable Canon G1x Mk3 with me (tucked inside my semi-pocket) --- I had to take a few photos - and once I started, it was hard to stop.

View attachment 187546

I had to get a little closer ...

View attachment 187547

View attachment 187548

View attachment 187549

Finally coming all the way around in front. The 24mm FOV equivalent wide-angle end of the zoom on my G1x3 somehow seemed just right -

View attachment 187550

The more you look at it, the more you want to start dancing -

View attachment 187551

View attachment 187552

- or swimming -

View attachment 187553

It's a very old car. Not just a Coche de los Muertos - but a semi-muerto Coche in its own right.

View attachment 187555

And, really - ¿who knew that Calaveras liked the ocean dwellers so much?

View attachment 187556

When I was done photographing, I learned a thing or three. Including that los Muertos - and their cars - have their own Code of behavior to live up to. Even if it's only for one long day - and longer night - every year.

View attachment 187557
Fantastico!
 
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