Among the dead

“The Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it.  It is one of his favorite playthings and his most steadfast love.”
Octavio Paz, Mexican poet

The day of the dead  is celebrated in many Latin American countries,but nowhere to the extent it is in Mexico. All across the country, almost without exception, people decorate graves and put up colorful ofrendas (altars) in their homes placing photos of their loved ones along with gifts such as sugar skulls, tequila and cigars. We believe that the souls of the deceased return during the night to enjoy this feast with their loved ones. Mexicans may even sing and laugh, and some even sleep in the cemetery next to portable stoves with burning incense for heating up the “deliciosos tamales” – that I miss so much.

Another tradition is writing calaveras in order to satirize some aspect of a person. These are some kind of fake “obituaries”, written in verse, which you dedicate to your family or friends as if they had died.

Now, growing up I never really celebrated the day of the dead since my family was kind of atheist, but we did eat the delicious pan de muertos and sometimes we even strolled around the many small towns surrounding Mexico City just to see the amazing ofrendas in the town squares. My favorite was one in a place called the Anahuacalli, which was Diego Rivera’s house and every year they would display all of the day of the dead decorations this artist made.

So, at the request of a curious Colombian girl I work with, and in order to embrace the true Mexican lifestyle and traditions, we decided to create our first ofrenda in Paris. It was built in memory of Mexican Painter Frida Kahlo.

I also wrote some calaveras for two of my fellow workers. So here it is, the first annual “Calavera & Muertos fest” in Paris!

Ofrenda (or altar)

Ofrenda (or altar)

In memory of Mexican Painter Frida Kahlo

Calavera

Calavera to Valentina

Calavera to Bibata

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III International Economic Forum

I have the impression to be always on the moon. It’s true we constantly receive important e-mails from the school’s communication service office, but come on, who has actually the time to read them all?

I was texting one of my mates this morning and I found out that there’s a huge event coming this January the 25th, and – shame on me – I completely ignored what it was about. After doing some research on line, thanks to an e-mail that Sol-angel “re-sent” me (a round of applause to my Franglais), I realized that I need to pay more attention to my junk-box and re consider the fact that READING all the e-mails the school sends may not be a waste of time after all.

It happens that there’s something called “The International Economic Forum, Latin America and the Caribbean” which is a hight-level event gathering a selective group of representatives from the public and private sectors in order to discuss key economic issues for Latin America and the Caribbean (you know: regional macroeconomic outlook, the role of fiscal policy in fostering development, the building of transatlantic business partnerships, the emergence of Latin American multinationals…). For someone doing economics like me, this is a great opportunity to catch up in the field.

The opening speech will be led by the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and there will be talks with Christine Lagarde, Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment of France and Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum.

Highly recommended.

III International Economic Forum Latin America & the Caribbean 2011
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),  the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, and the OECD Development Centre  would like to invite you to the  III International Economic Forum Latin America and the Caribbean 2011 Paris, Monday 24 january 2011 http://www.latameconomicforum.org/ Pierre Mendès-France Conference Center Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry 139, rue de Bercy – 75012 Paris 9:00 – 16:30 REGISTER NOW! (before 20 january 2011)
PROGRAMME
Opening Keynote Speech: Juan Manuel Santos, President, Republic of Colombia Introductory session. Latin America and the Caribbean and the G20 Agenda Introduction: Marc Olivier Strauss-Kahn, Executive Director for France, IDB Christine Lagarde, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, France Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Angel Gurría, Secretary General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Moderator: Michael Reid, Americas Editor, The Economist Session II. Commodity Trade: curse or blessing? Delphine d’Amarzit, Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Development, Directorate General of the French Treasury Eike Batista, CEO, EBX Group* Antoni Estevadeorval, Sector Manager, Integration and Trade, IDB Hafez Ghanem, Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Antonia Rodríguez Medrano, Minister of Productive Development and Plural Economy  Bolivia Moderator: José Manuel Calvo, Deputy Director, El Pais Session III. What role for the middle income sectors in Development? José Pablo Arellano, Member of the Board of Directors and Member of the Directors Committee, Grupo Falabella* Heriberto Félix Guerra, Secretary of State, Social Development Secretariat (SEDESOL), Mexico* Juan Temístocles Montás, Minister of Economy, Dominican Republic Mario Pezzini, Director, OECD Development Centre Moderator: Carlos Alberto Sardenberg, Anchor, TV Globo
REGISTRATION
Online registration closes on Thursday 20 january 2011. You will need an identity documentation to access the Conference Centre, where our team will welcome you from 8 to 8:45 to give you your badge. To register, please click here. To learn more about the forum, please visit our webpage http://www.latameconomicforum.org . Should you need any further information, please contact Nallely Carro (nallely.carro@oecd.org Tel:+33 (0)1 45 24 96 39) or Alicia Villafuerte (aliciavi@iadb.org Tel : +33 (0)1 40 69 31 08).