Coox Hanal Pixan! Multimedia Exhibit

*At Xcaret Park`s Hacienda Henequenera

**Visual artists Rafael del Castillo and Alberto Navarro

By Alejandra Flores

Experiencing Hanal Pixan and creating a visual record of the banquet put on year after year by Quintana Roo`s Mayan communities in honor of their dearly departed, resulted in the Coox Hanal Pixan! Multimedia Exhibit that will decorate the walls of the Hacienda Henequenera during the 3rd Life and Death Traditions Festival, Xcaret 2008.

Rafael del Castillo`s photography and Alberto Navarro`s videos come together to speak of the enigmas of an ancient tradition through both the images and the voices of its main participants.

Coox Hanal Pixan!  is an invitation to make ourselves observe what we only look at and that`s why they say that: "The world in which we live is enveloped in a rhythm that makes us ignore other realities around us; realities that often are not so far from our own, realities that we can see face on."

"The world we know also houses another world with an immense past and profound wisdom; which has not only refused to disappear as the years rolled by but rather, through its implacable existence, lives on amongst us with tremendous strength, equally enigmatic and proud of its own tongue, jealous of its ancient traditions that not only continue on today but enrich us."

"Today, the Mayan World shares with us a tradition that transcends the boundaries between life and death, that takes us by the hand to feel its pain and remember its dead, that invites us to stand shoulder to shoulder with the souls and share their earthly pleasures with them in a great festivity."

For Rafael del Castillo and Alberto Navarro, both enjoying brilliant careers, the 3rd Life and Death Traditions Festival is like having "dinner on the table".  "Come join us at the banquet of the souls!"