Post by sgev1977 on Mar 20, 2023 3:05:28 GMT
I just saw the first episode and TBH until now, the British one seems much better! It’s not bad but it felt extra silly to me as a Mexican! (the first was also silly. I mean it had witches, vampires and Dr. Frankenstein!).
First, I thought why is Cara Delevingne playing La Catrina? Well, I just googled the series and it wasn’t Delevingne but a Chilean actress! I won’t protest about cultural appropriation but it’s still kinda funny! Actually it seems that most Mexican characters are played by Latinos from other countries including the lead but hey, at least, Adriana Barraza has a prominent role!
Also the Chilean actress wasn’t playing La Catrina but La Santa Muerte! I thought it was funny because it’s true that in some places of Mexico there is a cult around La Santa Muerte but I linked it more to modern narco culture that something from the 1930s. According to Wikipedia it existed but like the series it kinda mix everything Day of the Dead, La Catrina, Indigenous culture and the so called La Santa Muerte but hidden there in the article is mentioned that the cult, indeed, become prominent until late 1990s with, yep, drug dealers!
It was also funny that the murdered victims were painted like Catrinas when I also think it’s something very new. First, La Catrina isn’t something religious or from a dark cult. It was a satirical character created by José Guadalupe Posadas. She was a political cartoon making fun of rich people! It was later adapted and popularized by Diego Rivera as a national kinda mystical icon. In late 1940s! The make up is very recent. I don’t know. The Day of the Dead is indeed a national holiday but it’s NOT celebrated in a big beautiful way everywhere. In that sense it’s/was a very local celebration. Here we used just going to visit late family members at the cemetery. Nothing more! Then the government did this massive campaigns attacking Halloween (which, obviously, kids preferred!) and promoting Altares de Muertos (which are now mandatory at least in schools and government buildings). There still are a lot of differences in the celebrations around the country. I mention this because if I saw someone with Catrina makeup when I was a kid, I would had thought that they were using panda makeup! Lol But according to the series it was something easily recognizable in 1930’s Los Ángeles! Lol
Also there is a scene in which you can see the Mexicans happily dancing something that sounds like salsa music but the song sounded like something from modern Puerto Rico! Maybe it was an old song, I should investigate! A second song sounded Cuban. I guess that would make more sense. Cubans had a huge influence in Mexico in 1940s and 1950s. There are a lot of Mexican movies from that period with Cuban music. Mostly mambo, not salsa, tho.
I will try to see more episodes but it feels very different to the first one. I mean, we need more horror characters from this side of the Atlantic to rival the first series! Also, it’s Los Ángeles, I hope they include some sub-plot about Hollywood!
First, I thought why is Cara Delevingne playing La Catrina? Well, I just googled the series and it wasn’t Delevingne but a Chilean actress! I won’t protest about cultural appropriation but it’s still kinda funny! Actually it seems that most Mexican characters are played by Latinos from other countries including the lead but hey, at least, Adriana Barraza has a prominent role!
Also the Chilean actress wasn’t playing La Catrina but La Santa Muerte! I thought it was funny because it’s true that in some places of Mexico there is a cult around La Santa Muerte but I linked it more to modern narco culture that something from the 1930s. According to Wikipedia it existed but like the series it kinda mix everything Day of the Dead, La Catrina, Indigenous culture and the so called La Santa Muerte but hidden there in the article is mentioned that the cult, indeed, become prominent until late 1990s with, yep, drug dealers!
It was also funny that the murdered victims were painted like Catrinas when I also think it’s something very new. First, La Catrina isn’t something religious or from a dark cult. It was a satirical character created by José Guadalupe Posadas. She was a political cartoon making fun of rich people! It was later adapted and popularized by Diego Rivera as a national kinda mystical icon. In late 1940s! The make up is very recent. I don’t know. The Day of the Dead is indeed a national holiday but it’s NOT celebrated in a big beautiful way everywhere. In that sense it’s/was a very local celebration. Here we used just going to visit late family members at the cemetery. Nothing more! Then the government did this massive campaigns attacking Halloween (which, obviously, kids preferred!) and promoting Altares de Muertos (which are now mandatory at least in schools and government buildings). There still are a lot of differences in the celebrations around the country. I mention this because if I saw someone with Catrina makeup when I was a kid, I would had thought that they were using panda makeup! Lol But according to the series it was something easily recognizable in 1930’s Los Ángeles! Lol
Also there is a scene in which you can see the Mexicans happily dancing something that sounds like salsa music but the song sounded like something from modern Puerto Rico! Maybe it was an old song, I should investigate! A second song sounded Cuban. I guess that would make more sense. Cubans had a huge influence in Mexico in 1940s and 1950s. There are a lot of Mexican movies from that period with Cuban music. Mostly mambo, not salsa, tho.
I will try to see more episodes but it feels very different to the first one. I mean, we need more horror characters from this side of the Atlantic to rival the first series! Also, it’s Los Ángeles, I hope they include some sub-plot about Hollywood!