Day of the Dead art did not originally include any Devil imagery. The Aztecs did not have a devil until their forced conversion to Christianity. They, as many other cultures do, had many gods (some pleasant and others not so much) and they did their best to stay on their good sides. This really isn’t any different from the Old Testament God, who is portrayed in the stereotypical mafia don manner. You did what you were told or you “swam with the fishes.” (See Noahs’s Ark.)
I think that religions use the creation of an “evil other” in order to create a common foe and use this concept to keep their flocks in order. I use a lot of Devil imagery in my Day of the Dead Art because I can identify with him. I believe he is misunderstood and falsely accused of creating the evil in the world. People don’t want to take credit for the pain they inflict, intentional and unintentional, both upon themselves and others. The Devil is the perfect scapegote. Very unpopular to begin with, it is easy to heap blame upon him and exclaim “the devil made me do it.”
Other people think of him sitting in Hell cooking up schemes to
destroy mankind, boiling potions in a cauldron or devising
tortures for all of humankind. I put him in a kitchen cooking up
a salad; fresh fruit and a cup of hot chocolate on the counter. I
imagine that the Devil would be a gourmet chef.
I put my artwork on his cannisters and mug because I have been
told that the Devil would definitely be a collector of my work. While the person did not intend this comment as a compliment, I took it as such.
