w/nw death by the roadside

I may be wrong, but I don't remember seeing markers of this sort when I was younger. I believe their prevalence now reflects the increasing presence of Hispanics in America, and the diffusion of their cultural practices into the mainstream. Here in the Southwest, and particularly New Mexico, these shrines are very common. They come originally from the Hispanic tradition of the "descanso", which translates as "rest" or "pause". The term is usually used now in reference to a roadside memorial, but its origins were in traditional funeral practices. When a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the bearers would pause for rest alongside the road. Those resting places were regarded as holy ground, and a descanso was erected to mark it as such.
 
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Retro-Grouch said:
I may be wrong, but I don't remember seeing markers of this sort when I was younger. I believe their prevalence now reflects the increasing presence of Hispanics in America, and the diffusion of their cultural practices into the mainstream. Here in the Southwest, and particularly New Mexico, these shrines are very common. They come originally come from the Hispanic tradition of the "descanso", which translates as "rest" or "pause". The term is usually used now in reference to a roadside memorial, but its origins were in traditional funeral practices. When a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the bearers would pause for rest alongside the road. Those resting places were regarded as holy ground, and a descanso was erected to mark it as such.
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I first saw them in the late 90's driving down Mexico 1 in Baja. I see them now in Oregon. "Do not forget." That seems the message. But I never knew you. A nod and kind thought helps.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
I may be wrong, but I don't remember seeing markers of this sort when I was younger. I believe their prevalence now reflects the increasing presence of Hispanics in America, and the diffusion of their cultural practices into the mainstream. Here in the Southwest, and particularly New Mexico, these shrines are very common. They come originally from the Hispanic tradition of the "descanso", which translates as "rest" or "pause". The term is usually used now in reference to a roadside memorial, but its origins were in traditional funeral practices. When a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the bearers would pause for rest alongside the road. Those resting places were regarded as holy ground, and a descanso was erected to mark it as such.
Click to expand...

I'm 73 now. I first saw roadside memorials in Mexico, when I was 16 years old and on a trip through the country with a Spanish teacher and a couple of other high school students in an old VW Microbus. I never saw them in the US (at least not in the Pacific NW) until many years later. Now they are quite common. I always assumed the memorials were at the site of a car accident or other tragic end of life.

Similarly, I first saw thick-crust pizza in Uruguay, in 1973. It took a few years for that to find its way to the US, also.

- Murray
 
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