The dead body of a Puerto Rican man has been embalmed and placed seated on a poker table alongside friends and family. Henry Rosario Martinez died at the young age of age 31 on January 19 in his home town of Barceloneta in the northern side of Puerto Rico. The cause of death was alcohol consumption mixed with the taking of prescription drugs.
The family did not comment on the death, but local media reports it could have been a suicide. Martinez used to sing reggaetton music, loved rooster fights, and was also a fan of gambling.
This is why his father contacted Jose Mendelez, the owner of a funeral service company, to ask him to prepare the body of his son in order to put it on a poker table instead of a coffin before his burial.
Jose Melendez, owner of Eterna Luz funerary service, said: ‘It’s the first time we ever did this here, but we take it as something normal because this kind of things have been done in other parts of our country.’ And so, to say one final goodbye to Martinez, his friends and family sat around the poker table with him.
A local artist and friend going by the name of ‘Kinki’ filmed a music video in his memory called ‘Rest in peace, my little brother’ in which they added images of the dead body sitting at the poker table. It appears that embalming bodies and putting them in unusual settings has become a trend in Puerto Rico in recent years.
A former driver was seated in his taxi after death while a wrestler was embalmed and posted in a fighting ring. Also, a senior woman was seated in a table having her favourite beer and cigarette while another man was dressed as a superhero.
One word: WEIRD!