‘The word death is not pronounced in New York, in Paris, in London, because it burns the lips. The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it, it is one of his favorite toys and his most steadfast love.’
Thus Octavio Paz describes a cultural phenomenon that has for centuries fascinated scholars and aficionados of virtually every field of Mexican studies, ‘el culto a la muerte, ‘ the cult of death, a term that readily calls to the mind of anyone familiar with Mexico and her culture the unusually constant place of death in the minds and lives of the Mexican people. In this volume, author Brodman examines the Mexican cult of death from a variety of disciplinary perspectives to provide the most comprehensive analysis yet of the origins and nature of the Mexican cult of death and its relationship to Mexican arts, literature and culture.
عن المؤلف
Dr. Barbara Brodman is Professor of Latin American & Caribbean Studies at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She holds graduate degrees in Hispanic languages and literature, Latin American Studies, and International Business and has published a variety of scholarly works that deal with Latin American and international cultures and affairs. Her 1997 journey through South America, retracing Che Guevaras 1952 motorcycle journey, was widely covered by the media, while thousands followed her adventures online or read her book about the adventure.
Dr. Brodman is founder and President of the Global Awareness Institute, an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the worlds rainforests through sustainable development. Through GAI, she has completed a water project in Indonesia and maintains protected ecological preserves and research centers in the Peruvian Amazon and Belize.
Dr. Brodman sat for many years on the board of the Inter-American Center for Human Rights, and she has served a variety of humanitarian organizations as a trained international election observer and human rights observer. Scholar, humanitarian, and adventurer, Dr. Brodmans knowledge of global and Latin American affairs, and her hands-on approach to acquiring it, enthrall and inspire the many students and non-students to whom she lectures regularly.