Artist Karla Radbourne illustrates my story 'Dia de los Muertos'
Artist Karla Radbourne produced this wonderful illustration for my story 'Dia de los Muertos' as part of a university project. There's a lot of symbolism in there including the marigolds on the ground and in the girl's hair. Karla has connections with Mexico and the story resonated with her. I'm very pleased that it did! 'It’s a Mexican thing. You have to be Mexican to understand the mixture of sadness, joy and resignation we associate with death. We don’t want to die, but we respect our relatives who have gone before us. We cherish them, they are not forgotten. The 2nd of November is the Día de los Muertos. Not the Carnival, the colourful, exuberant, uninhibited celebration in February. Not Halloween, the childish western celebration. No, the Day of theDead is older than that, thousands of years older, first celebrated by the pre-Columbians, and now in many Spanish-speaking countries. Here in Mexico it’s a big event, and when did Latins need an excuse for a f...