Las Catrinas

Here are a few photos of models Iriana and Sofia Rodriguez, (they're not related), dressed as "Catrinas" Below is an explanation of what they are. They were dressed this way at the introduction of an art exhibit by Paula Montes in Provo.

Enjoy!

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“La Catrina” was created by the lithographer and printer José Guadalupe Posada on zinc etching around 1910 as an illustration for a “calavera”, a satirical verse related to the death of an important person. The leaflet was named by Posada, “La Calavera Garbancera.” Garbancera described a person who was ashamed of his Indian origins and imitated the French culture, just as all the upper class members did at that time in Mexico. The verses of the calavera said: those who today are garbanceras full of make up, tomorrow will be deformed skulls.

In 1948, Diego Rivera, who considered Posada his artistic father, made the mural: “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la alameda” (Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Alameda park), in which he [painted Posada in the middle of the masterpiece holding hands with the Calavera Garbancera. Rivera not only painted the Garbancera dressed up by also named her “La Catrina.” Catrina is slang for elegant or well dressed and refers to rich people.

Thanks to Diego Rivera, the Skeleton Lady became an iconic image in Mexico’s culture and is traditionally used in the Day of the Dead celebrations Novermber 1st and 2nd, especially in urban areas. Posada and later Rivera, captured in the skeleton lady, the intimate relationship Mexicans have with death.