Some symbols become so iconic that we can find them outside their country of origin in clothing prints, sculptures, brooches, tattoos, and many other artifacts - as examples we have the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Christ the Redeemer.

A symbol that is world-renowned, of great impact, and that goes beyond the borders of its country is "La Catrina", or simply "Catrina".

The female skull with an elegant dress and an extravagant hat is a very present figure in the Mexican festivities of the Day of the Dead. It is everywhere and there are contests in the country to choose the most beautiful costume or the one that best represents La Catrina.

Understand what this traditional figure from Mexican culture means and find out that this skeleton represents much more than death!

You will find in this article

• The Origin of La Catrina
• La Catrina on the Day of the Dead
• La Catrina in the arts
• What does La Catrina symbolize?

The Origin of La Catrina

Danie Blind / Pixabay

La Catrina came from the Aztec Goddess of Death, Mictecacihuatl, who kept the bones of the dead so that they could be used if necessary. She also presided over the Day of the Dead festivities. She was married to the Lord of the Realm of the Dead, known as Mictlantecuhtli. They lived in the ninth and last layer of Mictlán, Hell for the Aztecs, an empty place where nothing existed.

Before it was called "La Catrina", it was called "La Calavera Garbancera", or "The Skull Garbancera". It was created by the cartoonist and illustrator José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), in 1910.

The cartoonist drew a skull wearing an extravagant hat, representing the fact that death is universal and democratic, since it strikes everyone indiscriminately and without privileges of social class or any other attribute. He used the symbol to make a political protest against the inequalities and social injustices generated by the dictatorships of Benito Juárez, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada andPorfirio Díaz, searching in his Mexican roots an ironic way to express his way of thinking and to alert the public.

Posada used the term "garbancera" referring to people who assimilated the customs of other nations - for example, European nations - at the expense of maintaining their own indigenous Mexican origins. He intended to highlight the importance of nationalism. The ornate hat he drew on the engraving was allusive to a French model. He popularized the figure of La Catrina.

It was Diego Rivera (1886-1957), muralist painter and husband of Frida Kahlo, who gave the name "La Catrina" to Calavera Garbancera, when he portrayed her in the 1948 mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park", rescuing the roots of Mexican culture and representing more than 400 years of Mexican history through various icons.From then on, the name La Catrina remained.

La Catrina was also part of the Calaveras Literarias, traditional poetry of Mexican culture, common at Day of the Dead celebrations, which ridiculed and satirized life and death in everyday life.

Today we see La Catrina in prints on fabrics, clothing and tableware, as makeup on the Day of the Dead and other dates around the world, in illustrations, tattoos and many other places. She has become a symbol of modern popular culture, and is often seen on skulls, not just full-body skeletons. Well-designed, in black and white or very colorful, she can even bring the idea of deathand have the function of a "memento mori" (Latin expression for "Remember that you are mortal"), very vividly.

La Catrina on the Day of the Dead

Crystel Salazar / Pixabay

The Day of the Dead in Mexico is a celebration with festivities all over the country. There is the Cultural Festival of Skulls, in which people celebrate death as an inevitable part of life and wear skull make-up, representing the figure of La Catrina, extolling the culture and valuing the roots. The Festival is an attraction in Aguascalientes, 523 km from Mexico City.

A skull drawn directly on the face is the most common makeup in La Catrina. On Mexico's Day of the Dead, it covers all faces, including children's. For Mexicans, this practice is an opportunity for family unity. Relatives gather to put on makeup, pray, remember and honor their deceased ancestors, always considering the undeniable truth that everyone will have the bodiestransformed into bones after death, which, for them, does not represent the end, but another form of existence, in a place of abundance and joy. That is why the date is one of celebration and La Catrina is the expression and rescue of ancestry.

La Catrina in the arts

RociH / Pixabay

Guillermo Flores and Mauricio Groenewold are two Mexicans in contemporary art who include in their works the figure of La Catrina.

For Guillermo, La Catrina is a reminder of how ephemeral life is, and that is why we have to make the most of it. He includes it in his works because it represents social criticism. The main references of his work are botany and surrealism, so his Catrinas have these elements.

For Groenewold, the figure of La Catrina in Mexican culture is a strong symbol that does not bring sadness, but colors and joy. He has as reference more traditional artists such as Posada, Toledo, Durero, Escher, Leopoldo Mendez and others. His Catrinas are more "realistic" and nationalistic.

What does La Catrina symbolize?

Far beyond representing the Goddess of Death, it served as a social criticism against dictatorial governments, showing, in everyday life, the misery, political barbarities, and hypocrisy of Mexican society.

La Catrina is part of the nationalist intellectual movement of valorization of the indigenous culture of Mexico. She rescues the Mexican roots, being part of indigenism. This iconic figure, of a unique beauty and that awakens the creative aesthetics is very charismatic.

The meaning of the "Goddess of Death", the "Skull Rider" or "La Catrina" is profound. It shows us that, no matter how different each one's life may be, death makes us equal, indistinctly. This is a universal concept, from the collective unconscious. Perhaps this is why the symbol transcends Mexican culture.

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La Catrina is a tool for self-knowledge, because it allows us to reflect on the value we place on our lives and how we enjoy the opportunities that arise. It makes us wonder if, beyond the bones, we will leave a memorable history (for the Aztecs, skulls held memories), to what extent our roots influence us and how well we know them. Make an immersion in its concepts andenjoy the beautiful experience of living!