La Calavera Catrina
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Posada2.Catrina.jpeg/300px-Posada2.Catrina.jpeg)
La Calavera Catrina( "The Dapper [female] Skull" ) had its origin as azincetchingcreated by the Mexican printmaker andlithographerJosé Guadalupe Posada(1852–1913). The image is usually dated c. 1910-12. Its first certain publication date is 1913, when it appeared in a satiric broadside (a newspaper-sized sheet of paper) as a photo-relief etching.[1][2]
In 1946–47, the Mexican muralistDiego Rivera(1886–1957) elaborated Posada's creation into a full-scale figure that he placed in his fresco "A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park" (now in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera). Whereas Posada's print intended to satirizeupper classwomen of thePorfiriato,Rivera, through various iconographic attributes that referenced indigenous cultures, rehabilitated her into a Mexican national symbol.[1]
La Catrinais a ubiquitous character associated withDay of the Dead(Spanish:Día de Muertos), both in Mexico and around the world. Additionally, it has become an icon of Mexican identity, sometimes used in opposition to the Halloween Jack-o'-lantern.[1]
First appearances
[edit]Vanegas Arroyo Broadsides
[edit]The Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and his family published many of Posada's most important works. Curator Ruben C. Cordova has identified four broadsides published by the Vanegas Arroyo family that feature Posada's Catrina image. All of these broadsides have different texts (none of them written by Posada) and different subsidiary images and graphic devices. The first of these broadsides, was published for Day of the Dead in 1913 (it bears a date), and is titled "Remate de Calaveras Alegres y Sandungueras, Las que hoy son empolvadas Garbanceras pararán en deformes calaveras" ( "The Ending of the Cheerful and Sandunga-dancing Calaveras", "those that today are powdered chick pea-vendors will end as deformed Calaveras" ). Though Posada had made his print as a criticism of the wealthy elite, the text of the 1913 broadside was a vicious attack on working class women who sold garbanzo beans (instead of foods native to Mexico).[1]
The second publication of Posada's image was in a broadside titled "Han Salido por Fin, Las Calaveras" ( "They have finally left" ), issued sometime after Antonio Vanegas Arroyo's death in 1917. The third broadside with the Catrina image was called "Calaveras de la Cucaracha, Una Fiesta en Ultratumba" ( "Calaveras of the cockroach, a fiesta from beyond the grave" ). The text includes the word "catrines" (male dandies, plural). Cordova thinks the impression of this broadside that he illustrated was printed in the 1920s (it bears two prices, five cents and ten cents, and therefore was likely republished). "El Panteon de las Pelonas" ( "Graveyard of bald/dead women" ), the fourth Catrina broadside, bears the date 1924.[1]
Posada's Rediscovery and the Emergence of Catrina
[edit]The French-born Mexican artist Jean Charlot played a key role in the rediscovery of Posada, who was little known after his death. The image we know as Catrina appeared in a book for the first time 1930, at which time the title Calavera Catrina was attached to it. In 1944, the Catrina image appeared on the cover of an exhibition catalogue for the Art Institute of Chicago. At this time, Art Institute catalogues (with Catrina on the cover) and individual prints of Catrina were widely distributed in Mexico and the U.S., providing Catrina with high visibility.[3]
Diego Rivera's Dream of a Sunday Afternoon: Catrina Transformed
[edit]Diego Rivera's muralSueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central( "Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Central Alameda" ), which stretches 15 yards, depicts 400 years of Mexican history from the Spanish Conquest to the Revolution. Rivera included many historical figures in the fresco, which was originally painted for the Hotel del Prado in the historic center ofMexico City.When the 1985 earthquake required the demolition of the hotel, the fresco was moved to theMuseo Mural Diego Rivera,which is adjacent to the Alameda Park. The museum was built specifically to house and display Rivera's restored mural.[4]
Rivera placed Posada (dressed in a black suit) and Catrina in the center of his fresco. Rivera depicted himself as a boy who holds Catrina's hand.Frida Kahlostands behind and between them. Rivera keeps the big bourgeois hat that Posada gave to Catrina. But instead of outfitting her with a matching bourgeois gown, he puts her in a simple Tehuana skirt, similar to those Kahlo wore, which were associated with indigenous women from Tehuantepec. The feather rattlesnake boa that Catrina wears links her to the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent), and its stone rattle connects it to the Aztec goddess Coatlicue ( "She of the Serpent Skirt" ). Like snakes and Coatlicue, Rivera's Catrina has fangs and a bloody mouth. The gold belt buckle has anollinglyph, which symbolizes movement (and the earthquakes the Aztecs thought would end their era). Eyes are visible behind the skull mask, which arguably makes Rivera's Catrina a life and death figure. Cordova argues that Rivera made Catrina into a nationalist emblem that referenced indigenous cultures and the philosophy of dualism.[1]
Cultural importance
[edit]Catrina became central to Mexican identity in part because Posada was made into the "primary artistic ancestor figure" for the generation of the Mexican Muralists. Additionally, for many years, influential Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City were held at museums that centered on Rivera and Kahlo, where the Linares family made three-dimensional versions of Posada's prints out of papier mâché. Consequently, Posada, Rivera, and Kahlo were woven into foundational urban commemorations in Mexico City. Even without the Mesoamerican attributes Rivera provided to Catrina, she still functions as a national emblem associated specifically with Mexico.[1]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Monumento.catrina.png/220px-Monumento.catrina.png)
Artistic subtext
[edit]Culture
[edit]The Calavera is a well-established tradition in Mexico. Satiric works such as Posada's Catrina were created during (or in the immediate aftermath) of the polarizing reign of dictatorPorfirio Díaz.Díaz is lauded for modernizing and bringing financial stability to Mexico, but he also led his government in repression, corruption, and excess, and had an obsession with European materialism and culture. Christine Delsol writes: "Concentration of fantastic wealth in the hands of the privileged few brewed discontent in the hearts of the suffering many, leading to the 1910 rebellion that toppled Diaz in 1911 and became the Mexican Revolution."[4]
Catrina appears on all manner of commercial and festive products relating to Day of the Dead. Her image inspires numerous artists to recreate her every year, out of nearly every imaginable material. Additionally, her image is often assembled out of diverse materials (even people), as a collage or assemblage. In recent years, highly publicized contests have taken place for the biggest, the most, and the best Catrinas, especially in Mexico and the U.S. Catrina impersonators abound. There are even Catrina fashion shows, and lavish, Catrina-themed balls and benefits for non-profit organizations.[1][5][6][7][8]
Some artists have made a variety of Catrina figures over the years, such as the Albuquerque-based artist Brandon Maldonado (b. 1980). His Catrinas includeLa Catrina de la Noche,2003, an op art-influenced ink on paper drawing,The Carriage,an oil painting from 2010 with Catrina riding in a traditional coach driven by a Catrín, and a satiric ink drawing calledGringo Souvenirof 2012.La Calavera Catrina,from 2018 (oil and gold leaf on panel) combines influences from traditional New Mexican religious statues and cubism with papel picado (cut paper) patterns. Maldonado'sThe Portrait of Doña Catrina(2019) is a reworking of a famous oil painting by Goya. His paintingCake Lady. (20 years of Muertos anniversary piece),2021, humorously transforms a traditional dress into a cake.[9]In an untitled Catrina Altar installed at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles in 2022, Maldonado transforms Catrina into a sculptural "death saint" that mourns victims of school shootings: Columbine (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), Sandy Hook (2012), Parkland (2018), and Uvalde (2022).[8]
Folk art
[edit]Purist
[edit]Catrinasare currently fashioned out of two- and three-dimensional materials. These include drawings, prints, paintings, andpaper-mâchésculptures, Oaxacan wood carvings, polychromed clay figures, andbarro negroblack clay pottery.Catrinais often paired with a male dandy skeleton, known as aCatrín. The concept of art is also widely applied in various entertainment forms, including movies, highly exemplified by the filmCoco(2017), animated series, video games, and music videos.[10][11]
Costume
[edit]"Catrin" and "Catrina" have become popular costumes duringDay of the Deadcelebrations in Mexico and elsewhere. They typically featurecalavera(skull) make-up.[12]The male counterpart to the Catrina, wears the same skull makeup and black clothes, often a formal suit with a top hat or a mariachi costume. A cane might also be part of the costume. Catrinas can be dressed in black, white, or bright colors.[13][14]
- Day of the Dead,circa 2014.
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Woman dressed as a Catrina
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Girl dressed as a Catrina
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A Catrina
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Three children dressed as Catrinas
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Woman dressed as a Catrina
Gallery
[edit]-
A Catrina inspired byMaría Félixas part of anofrendaon theday of the deadfestivities atSan Ángelin November 2014
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A Catrina inspired bySelenaduring celebrations ofDay of the DeadatHollywood Forever Cemetery,Los Angeles
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Center of Diego Rivera's wide muralSueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central(Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central)
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Modern representations of Catrina at the Museo de la Ciudad,León, Guanajuato,Mexico
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Image done incolored sawdustforDía de Muertos
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Detail of a Catrina figure inBarro negro potteryby artisanCarlomagno Pedro Martinez
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La CatrinainChina Poblanadress, by Rodofo Villena Hernandez in Puebla
See also
[edit]- All Saints Day
- Danse Macabre
- Day of the Dead
- Death (personification)
- Ghosts in Mexican culture
- Memento mori
- Santa Muerte
- Skeleton (undead)
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghCordova, Ruben C. (November 2, 2019)."José Guadalupe Posada and Diego Rivera Fashion Catrina: From Sellout To National Icon (and Back Again?)".Glasstire.RetrievedMarch 11,2013.
- ^"Jose Guadalupe Posada, Calavera Catrina (Dapper Skeleton)".ArtofthePrint.
- ^Sandoval, Mathew (2023-10-24)."How 'La Catrina' became the iconic symbol of Day of the Dead".The Conversation.Retrieved2023-11-10.
- ^abDelsol, Christine; SFGate, Special to (25 October 2011)."La Catrina: Mexico's grande dame of death".SFGate.
- ^Cordova, Ruben C. (November 2, 2020)."Catrina Mania!".Glasstire.RetrievedMarch 11,2023.
- ^Cordova, Ruben C. (November 1, 2021)."Catrina Mania III".Glasstire.RetrievedMarch 11,2023.
- ^Gonzalez, Marybel (October 12, 2022)."Catrina statue symbolizing Day of the Dead brings Mexican art, cultural education to Magnificent Mile".La Catrina, carved by artist José Luis Martinez Pasillas in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes.RetrievedJune 23,2023.
- ^abCordova, Ruben C. (November 1, 2023)."Catrina Mania V: And the Beat Goes On!".Glasstire.RetrievedNovember 10,2023.
- ^Cordova, Ruben C. (October 30, 2022)."Catrina Mania IV: Brandon Maldonado's Catrinas".Glasstire.RetrievedOctober 30,2022.
- ^Evans, Kiki; Subero, Olivia; Iacobucci, Jordan (13 March 2024)."15 Animated Movies To Watch If You Loved Coco".CBR.Retrieved28 March2024.
- ^Haage, Anthony (7 March 2024)."5 Best Mexican-Themed Casino Games You Can Play Online".The Yucatan Times.Retrieved28 March2024.
- ^Devash, Meirav (September 28, 2022)."5 Things to Know Before Doing Dia de Los Muertos Makeup".Allure.Retrieved2018-10-07.
- ^Aguilon, Carlos (October 29, 2016)."Catrinas y catrines".Diario de Querétaro(in Spanish).RetrievedDec 18,2022.
- ^"El Día de los Muertos".National Geographic(in Spanish).RetrievedDec 18,2022.
External links
[edit]Media related toLa Calavera Catrinaat Wikimedia Commons