Catrina

Personality

Although he is a figure without dialogue, his conveyed "personality" is: Elegant and aristocratic (always refined and classy).

Ironic and mocking (it laughs at human vanity and death itself).

Cheerful and festive (never sad or terrifying; it invites you to celebrate).

Democratic and humble at heart (remember that beneath appearances we are all equal).

Strong and empowered (many women use it as a symbol of powerful femininity and no fear of death).

Appearance It is a female skeleton (smiling skull with very visible teeth).

His classic look (the most recognized today) includes: White skull face with sugar skull style makeup (sunken eyes, missing nose, eternal smile).

Long, elegant period dress (19th-20th century), often black, purple, red or multicolored, with lace, ruffles and luxurious details.

Enormous, extravagant hat, decorated with flowers (especially marigolds), feathers, ostrich feathers, veils or fruit.

Boa or feather stole around the neck (in Rivera's version it symbolizes Quetzalcoatl or pre-Hispanic elements).

Jewelry, gloves, sometimes a parasol or fan. Haughty, flirtatious, and proud posture.

In altars, costumes, makeup and crafts, a thousand modern variations are added (neon colors, contemporary dresses, etc.).

Role It represents death itself, but in a cheerful, ironic, and fearless way.

It symbolizes that death makes everyone equal (regardless of social class, race, or wealth).

On the Day of the Dead, it embodies the celebration of life and the natural acceptance of death.

It is an icon of Mexican identity, cultural pride, and resistance to discrimination and vanity.

History and origin It was originally created by the great Mexican caricaturist, engraver and illustrator José Guadalupe Posada around 1910-1913 (the time of the Porfiriato and the Mexican Revolution).

In its original version it was called La Calavera Garbancera.

"Garbancera" was a derogatory term used to refer to people (often of indigenous or humble origin) who sold chickpeas instead of corn, trying to appear European (Spanish or French), denying their Mexican and indigenous roots to imitate the upper and European class.

Posada drew it as a social critique and satire: a skull (skeleton) that is "down to the bones" (poor, with nothing), but wears an ostentatious French hat with feathers, mocking vanity, hypocrisy and the obsession with pretending to have wealth and social status that one does not have.

His famous associated phrase is: "Death is democratic... blonde, brunette, rich or poor, we all end up as a skeleton."

It was not until 1947 that the muralist Diego Rivera popularized it enormously and changed its name to La Catrina (derived from "catrín/catrina", which meant a very elegant and well-dressed person from high society).

In his famous mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park," Rivera dressed her in luxury, placed her in the center alongside Posada, Frida Kahlo, and himself (as a child), and turned her into a proud national symbol instead of just a critic.

Today it is the main emblem of the Day of the Dead in Mexico and around the world.