LITERARY LITTLE SKULL

We would like to thank the three talented participants who shared their creativity and sense of humor in honor of the Day of the Dead.

Congratulations to the winner, who takes home a Mexican basket full of traditional products, courtesy of Kaktus Mat!

Kaktus Mat is a shop in Oslo specializing in authentic Mexican products. Here you can find a wide variety of Mexican ingredients and products, from salsas, tortillas, to traditional sweets, perfect for those who want to keep the taste of Mexico alive in Norway.

Thank you all for celebrating our traditions with such enthusiasm.

The Literary Calavera or calavera literaria (Spanish: literary little skull) is a traditional Mexican literary form: a satirical or light-hearted writing in verse, often composed for the Day of the Dead. In some parts of Mexico, it is a common tradition for children and adults to write "Calaveritas" for friends, colleagues, or relatives, in which the addressee is typically portrayed as dead.

For the Mexican culture Death is a common topic. It appears in everyday life. Death for the Mexican culture does not represent an end of something, but a part of a bigger process. In the Calaveritas Literarias, the image of Death appears joyful and collaborative with the ones who appear in the tale. In other tales and poems, Death appears as clumsy and funny. In other tales, the Mexicans, using their intelligence, manage to trick Death to live another day. The use of synonyms for Death is commonly used, for example, The Grim Reaper, the bony one, the skinny one, the white girl, or anything that resembles the shape of Death. One of the reasons why Mexicans tend to appear reckless, passionate and lighthearted is because they see Death as a friend, and not as an enemy.

Here is the winning of the Calaverita Literaria.

In front of Renato and Mariana

Death was sitting

Because of an interview gala

The reaper was participating.

Thank you very much for the invitation,

The skinny girl commented

Without hesitation.

What do you think of Norway?

Mariana asked,

“It Is the first time that death

Has come this way.”

The Grim Reaper grasped.

The Grim Reaper stresses

Without airs of grandeur

That the memories of her land caresses

Because everything here is so cruel.

“What is so cruel?”

Renato asked

To the ghoul.

The bony one with surprises

Commented that she had never seen

So much whiteness.

All the souls I take

Are dark-skinned

And without a kink

They have good taste.

It seems that these white people

Are just a little waste.

That's why I always carry with me,

To season this white meat,

Little Valentina sauce

To bring up the beat.

Mariana and Renato, without hesitation,

Asked the bony in one say.

“But what is the reason

That brought you to Norway?”

The bony one, with stutter

Complained from the heart.

I had come in trouble

To take with me y’all.

To Renato because he's pretty,

I hit him on his face.

Which made his smile go away.

It's no use taking him now,

Because Pepsi with his barking

Makes him want to drown.

To Mariana for bothering her brother,

I will take the coffee from her back.

Well, there are worse fates that bother

And drinking decaf, boy, that's bad luck.

I'd rather play dumb with my Fernanda,

Because she thinks that ezquite is corn in a glass

And since she is already from Monterrey,

I consider that is already enough to pass.

To my David. That strong boy,

Who is not only handsome but also full of joy.

He deserves heaven and all the gelato.

His punishment is to never meet Cristiano Ronaldo.

To my Oscar so diligent

And the best in the region,

His punishment is to always speak in Norwegian.

Dear Ana,

As you are so kind,

Your worst punishment is not to dance

For the rest of your life.

Andrea of ​​my core,

Your punishment will be,

Never to eat tacos al pastor.

And I won't even mention the others

Because heir punishment bothers.

And all this curse,

The Grim Reaper review,

Would be carried out

At the end of the interview.

She thought that her decision

Was something to wither

But she changed her mind

When she saw how they suffer in the winter.

In The icy lands where everything is tough,

My Mexicans already suffer enough.

I forgive you for the curse

On one condition.

Help all the Mexicans and migrants

Is my decision.

Keep customs alive

And pass on the tradition.

We definitely have a deal.

Dancing with flow and appeal,

Mariana and Renato squealed.

Death left Churubusco Studios

With a smile and a lot of pleasure.

The skinny girl knew that the visit was not only leisure.

“In good hands

And in good direction

I am leaving my Mexicans.”

That was Death’s last reflection.

Poem annotation:

●Ezquite/Elote en vaso/Corn in a glass: traditional dish where grains of corn are put in a glass to eat. There is controversy between Monterrey and Mexico City. Whereas in Mexico City that dish is called “ezquites”, honoring the Aztec original name and tradition, Monterrey calls it “elote en vaso” (corn in a glass). Both ways are correct to say, but the fight of which city is the best can be resembled in the discussion ezquite vs elote en vaso.

●Beef Mexico City vs Monterrey: Such as in every country, the capitol always gets into conflicts with other bigger cities of the same country. The conflict between Bergen vs Oslo or Munich vs Berlin is a clear example of this ancient rivalry.

●Valentina Sauce: Popular Salsa that is used for everything in Mexico. It is sold in every corner and is so popular that are small pouches with the salsa that Mexicans tend to keep in their bags, in case the place where they eat doesn’t have any salsa.

●Tacos al pastor: Traditional and most popular dish in Mexico City. These tacos were awarded the title of best food in the world by Taste Atlas in 2019.