La Calavera Catrina

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Lore & Background

The first certain publication of Posada's Catrina image was in 1913, on a broadside 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 skulls", "those that today are powdered ordinary and vulgar will end as deformed skulls"). Though Posada made his print as a criticism of the wealthy elite, the text of this broadside was a vicious attack on working class women who sold garbanzo beans. The image appeared in a book for the first time in 1930, when 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, and individual prints were widely distributed in Mexico and the U.S., providing Catrina with high visibility. Diego Rivera's mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Central Alameda" stretches 15.6 metres (51 ft) and depicts 400 years of Mexican history. Rivera placed Posada (dressed in a black suit) and Catrina in the center, depicting himself as a boy holding Catrina's hand, with Frida Kahlo behind them. Rivera kept the big bourgeois hat but put her in a simple Tehuana skirt, and added a feather rattlesnake boa linking her to Quetzalcoatl, fangs and a bloody mouth connecting to Coatlicue, and a gold belt buckle with an ollin glyph symbolizing movement. Cordova argues Rivera made Catrina into a nationalist emblem referencing indigenous cultures and the philosophy of dualism.

In Their Own Story

The image we know as Catrina first appeared in a book in 1930, when the title Calavera Catrina was attached to it. By 1944, she was on the cover of an Art Institute of Chicago exhibition catalogue, and prints were widely distributed in Mexico and the U.S. But the transformation came when Diego Rivera placed her at the center of his 15.6-metre fresco in Mexico City's Hotel del Prado. Rivera depicted himself as a boy holding Catrina's hand, with Frida Kahlo behind them. He kept Posada's big bourgeois hat but dressed her in a simple Tehuana skirt like those Kahlo wore. He gave her a feather rattlesnake boa linking her to Quetzalcoatl, fangs and a bloody mouth connecting to Coatlicue, and a gold belt buckle with an ollin glyph symbolizing movement. Eyes are visible behind the skull mask, making Rivera's Catrina a life and death figure. When the 1985 earthquake required demolition of the hotel, the fresco was moved to the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, built specifically to house it. Today, Catrina appears on all manner of commercial and festive products relating to Day of the Dead, and her image inspires numerous artists to recreate her every year out of nearly every imaginable material.

Reader's Guide

La Catrina is a ubiquitous character associated with Day of the Dead in Mexico and around the world, and has become an icon of Mexican identity, sometimes used in opposition to the Halloween Jack-o'-lantern. Her image appears on all manner of commercial and festive products relating to Day of the Dead, and inspires numerous artists to recreate her every year out of nearly every imaginable material. Catrina impersonators abound, and there are Catrina fashion shows and lavish Catrina-themed balls and benefits for non-profit organizations. The male counterpart to the Catrina is known as a Catrín, wearing the same skull makeup and black clothes, often a formal suit with a top hat or a mariachi costume. Catrinas can be dressed in black, white, or bright colors. 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. For many years, influential Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City were held at museums centered on Rivera and Kahlo, where the Linares family made three-dimensional versions of Posada's prints out of papier mâché. Even without the Mesoamerican attributes Rivera provided, Catrina still functions as a national emblem associated specifically with Mexico.

Did You Know?

• The first certain publication of the Catrina image was in 1913 on a broadside titled 'Remate de Calaveras Alegres y Sandungueras.'
• Though Posada's print criticized the wealthy elite, the 1913 broadside text attacked working class women who sold garbanzo beans instead of foods native to Mexico.
• Diego Rivera's mural featuring Catrina stretches 15.6 metres (51 ft) and depicts 400 years of Mexican history.
• The 1985 earthquake required the demolition of the Hotel del Prado, leading to the fresco being moved to the Museo Mural Diego Rivera, built specifically to house it.
• Catrina has been used in opposition to the Halloween Jack-o'-lantern as an icon of Mexican identity.