Today, Dia de los Muertos is a festival that begins at midnight on All Hallow's Eve - October 31 - and continues to November 2nd, All Souls Day.
#Dia de los muertos skull girl skin
Mictecacihuatl – who is often depicted with flayed skin and a gaping, skeletal jaw – was linked to both death and resurrection. According to one myth, Mictecacihuatl and her husband collected bones so that they might be returned to the land of the living and restored by the gods.The Day of the Dead evolved from Aztec rituals that honored departed loved ones, rulers and warriors. The goddess of death Mictecacihuatl was the first female representation of death, and queen of the underworld Chicunamictlan.
These ancient rituals tended to laugh and make light of death, in the same way José Guadalupe Posada did through his illustrations using skeletons and skulls.Īs the Catrina symbol grew in popularity, she began to appear in Día De Los Muertos festivities as well, along with a male version, Catrin.Īnother connection can be drawn between La Catrina and ancient Aztec traditions. Thus the holiday today is replete with symbols of the afterlife, seen in decorative skulls and dancing calacas. For pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican groups, death was views in a more positive light and skulls were associated with continuation to the afterlife. What is Her Connection to Day of the Dead?ĭay of the Dead, celebrated November 1st and 2nd, is rooted in indigenous beliefs. This was when she began to be called La Catrina. Catrina was a popular term at the time, used for well-dressed aristocrats. The End of Alameda Park mural is now at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City.
In 1947, Diego Rivera incorporated this figure into the his mural Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central.Īmong the many people in the mural, he placed her between Frida Kahlo and Jose Guadalupe Posada.ĬC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0), Public Domain Dedication
“ Posada Museum, Aguascalientes” ( CC BY 2.0) by MollySVH The caricature portrayed the women who then sought to hide their roots in favor of European styles. For context, this was at the cusp of the Mexican Revolution, when tensions between the aristocracy and other classes were especially high. “ La Calavera Garbancera“– or The Garbanzo Skeleton, was based on garbanzo sellers who had attained wealth. She was a caricature and critique of high-society women who valued European customs and disparaged their own Mexican ones. At this time, she was portrayed as a skeleton donned in an elegant French dress, complete with white makeup, a fancy hat, and feather boa. In 1910, Posada created “ La Calavera Garbancera,” her original name. Though he died without fame in his own time, his images of skulls and skeletons have since embodied the spirit of Day of the Dead. Posada’s illustrations were able to reach even the lower classes, many of whom could not read. He frequently used images on skulls and skeletons to represent the only truly democratic state of humans: death and the afterlife. Posada was outspoken against the governmental corruption, along with the pretentiousness and excesses of the wealthy. In 1888, he moved to Mexico City to work for various newspapers.
#Dia de los muertos skull girl series
He gained some notoriety in 1871, with a series of political cartoons that criticized the governor of Aguas Calientes. Posada was a Mexican printmaker, illustrator, and cartoonist, born in 1852. What does La Catrina symbolize?įirst things first: to understand the meaning of La Catrina– and even much of the imagery in the Day of the Dead– we need to get to know José Guadalupe Posada a little. What is her connection to Day of the Dead? 5. Let’s take a look at the history behind La Calavera Catrina!Ĭontents: 1. But where did come from, and what does she mean to Mexican culture?Įven as imagery from Day of the Dead becomes more commercialized and popular in the United States and other places, the meaning behind La Catrina is quite profound.
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