their eyes open , and in several cases shown as being older than they were at the time of their deaths. The advent of the camera, however, provided the less wealthy with the opportunity of acquiring similar mementos of their dead chil dren oAt first these were the still relatively costly photographic processes such as daguerrotypes and ambrotypes, but eventually photographic developments allowed the ritual art of Child Death to take a popular formo Here in Mexico, the tradition of making a photograph of the angelito as part of the funerary rite became widespread, particularly among the poor in rural areas. One of the reasons for this may have been the high mortality rate in these areas which increased the parents' desire to preserve the image of their child. It is the im ages made by Romualdo García, Juan de Dios Macháin, José Antonio Bustamante and hundreds of other provincial photographers, which best reflect what could be interpreted as being uniquely Mexican in the art of Child Death. It is interesting to compare the ritually rich detail in the work of these photographers with other example of the genre. For example, memorial photographs of dead children in the United States are much simpler and starker, as are the daguerrotypes and ambrotypes
made of their counterparts among wealtheir , urbandwelling Mexicans. The art of Child Death in the Mexican countryside is closely linked to the cult of the Virgin which is so strong in these areas. According to art historian Gutierre Aceves these photographs of angelito deaths are modeled on seventeenth century paintings depicting the death of the Virgin. Symbols of purity such as lilies and spikenard , and of Virgin worship such as palm fronds and the crown which symbolizes the Virgin 's resurrections abound in these images. The dead girl child is almost always dressed as the Immaculate Conception and the boy usually as Saint Joseph. Gold cardboard crowns and sandals often complete the attire but it is not unusual for decorative wings to be added, especially in the case of dead infants. This apparel and its adornments symbolize the state of innocence in which the child died and its transformation into a heavenly being ; an affirmation of the victory over death through resurrection. In Child Death photography the dead infant is doubly immortalised: not only does it enjoya place in heaven but its image continues to exist here on earth. And in the same way that the deád child is transformed into a saint, the ritual photograph becomes a virtual relic: an
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object associated with a holy being or of religious reverence. The rarity and condition of vintage Child Death photographs testifies to the veneration of these images. Passed down from generation to generation, they have gone from hand to hand and been ciasped to bosoms so frequently that they emerge stained and torn , the images fading from over exposure. But in essence they remain what they were intended to be, a triumphant witness over death, a confirmation of life and resurrection.
Margaret Hooks is an Irish writer living in Mexico. She is the author ofTina Modotti: Photographer and Revolutionary , London, 1993. Currently she is working on a book on Edward Weston to be published by Aperture in 1997.