October 31, 2007
By GREGORY BULL, The Associated Press
A statue of an angel hides its face near a funeral that's taking place. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) |
Death marks a human being's final passage on this Earth -- the conclusion of a life worn by time, by dreams and hopes.
As death comes, the living mourn. At the same time, the body begins one last journey, from death bed to embalming to burial.
Behind one of Mexico City's largest hospitals for low-income families, a group of low office buildings open their doors to the dead, receiving bodies for embalming. The bodies are laid out on a row of sturdy tile tables in an all-white room -- a waiting room for the dead. Chemicals arrive in large containers, tubes are inserted and skin is cut.
After being embalmed, the dead are dressed in their best attire -- a favorite tie, a favorite shirt. The process ends with light touches of makeup and gentle adjustments of each casket's white lining.
In a photo gallery on the eve of Mexico's Day of the Dead -- a holiday that honors the departed each Nov. 1 -- asap follows several bodies through the embalming process and to the grave.
http://asap.ap.org/data/interactives/_news/finaljourney/
___
Gregory Bull is an AP photographer based in Mexico City.
___
Want to comment? Sound off at soundoffasap@ap.org.
