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.
