Standing Tall At His Funeral

Ángel Pantoja Medina died last week. But, as per his wishes, he was not lying down when his body was shown before the funeral. Instead his body was propped up in the corner. Susan Dilan (who forwarded us this interesting item from a Spanish-language paper) summarizes:

A 24-year old who died last week got his wish and was viewed before his funeral standing up. He had been friends with the owners of a funeral home and had a running joke that he wanted to be viewed that way. They found a way to stand him up in the corner of his home so his friends and family could say their final farewells

The accompanying video is classic. If you didn't know he was dead, you'd think he was just a guy chilling in the corner.

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 18, 2008
Category: Death

Comments

Along with the Yankees cap and "blinblineo" why didn't they tape a half-empty 40 to his hand and complete the look? It's not everyone who can pour one for themselves.

Posted by Darkness on 08/18/08 at 09:02 PM

Gary -- Thanks for the translation!

The question the article doesn't answer, but which I'd like to know, is exactly how did they get his body propped up straight? I'm guessing they must have sewn him onto a pole, or something equally unpleasant.

Posted by Alex on 08/18/08 at 10:13 PM

Just last night, I was telling my wife that I'd like to be embalmed, mummified, and propped up in a classic The Mummy pose to scare the shoot out of kids at Hallowe'en.

Does Chain of Blinblineo sound like a magic item from Dungeons & Dragons to anyone else?

Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 08/19/08 at 08:48 AM

Gary wrote: <if they timed the wake right, he might be stiff enough to stand with only the wall behind him for support>

Imagine being there, paying your respects, when the rigor dissipated! One moment, you're kissing the deceased on the cheek, the next moment, he's crushing you to the floor.

Posted by BikerPuppy on 08/19/08 at 11:06 AM

Big Gary -- if you ever find that photo of the New Guinean death ritual, scan it and send me a copy. I'd like to see that. Or just let me know the title of the book. UCSD library probably has it.

Posted by Alex on 08/19/08 at 08:03 PM

Gary, the UC library system has it! Not UCSD, but some of the other UC campuses, so I ordered it via interlibrary loan and should have it in a few days. I can't wait to check it out.

Posted by Alex on 08/20/08 at 01:33 AM

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