A Bolivian artist carves faces of the departed onto Day of the Dead bread

EL ALTO, Bolivia — During the Day of the Dead celebrations that take place in late October and early November, Latin Americans honor their departed loved ones by setting up altars adorned with food, flowers and photographs. But what about carving the actual face of your deceased spouse or family member on a plaster to decorate a piece of bread?

That is exactly what one artist in Bolivia is doing.

As part of a centuries-old tradition to honor their dead on Nov. 2, Bolivians share a sweet bread called “tantawawa” (Aymara for “baby bread”) in a symbolic way to connect the living with the dead.

Traditionally, the “tantawawa” are decorated with generic, plastered faces, but Bolivian artist William Luna thought it would be even more symbolic if he could carve out a feature that resembles the loved ones that people are remembering.

Inspired by the loss of his mother, Luna began sculpting her face onto a “tantawawa” for the first anniversary of her death in 2017. He then introduced this idea to local markets, and now receives requests from families eager to honor their loved ones in this unique way.

“Families ask for the masks to resemble their deceased loved ones as closely as possible,” Luna explains. “I focus on each person’s distinctive features, as we all have something special that sets us apart.”

Luna meticulously crafts each mask, starting with a photo of the departed individual. He then shapes clay using his fingers and modeling tools to capture the person’s likeness. Once satisfied with the clay model, he creates a plastic mold and fills it with plaster. The final step involves painting the mask, sometimes with the help of the family.

The entire process takes about a week.

Milton Eyzaguirre, an anthropologist from the National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore in La Paz, said that there’s not an exact record of the origin of the “tantawawa”, only that they are pre-Hispanic. Historically, the bread was made with quinoa flour, but now wheat is commonly used.

“Our tradition holds that souls return hungry and thirsty, and that is why families have food waiting for them,” he said.

Luna, the artist, says that his idea is to give people a way to see their deceased loved ones again.

“Even if it’s only in this way,” he said, gazing at some of the plastered faces.

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