The most popular symbol of Dia de los Muertos is by far the skull or “calavera” in Spanish. This is interpreted as beautifully decorated sugar skulls and elaborately painted faces and skeleton costumes. But it is also used to refer to poems, or literary calaveras, that are written especially for the Day of the Dead. These poems are playful and humorous, rather than gloomy and mournful, and are found in local newspapers, as well as, being read aloud on television and radio programs. Their purpose is to remind people of the ephemeral nature of life and that, at least sometimes, death should be taken lightly and with a good dose of fun!

“Todos somos calaveras,” or “we are all skeletons.” is a phrase commonly attributed to José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican political cartoonist and lithographer who in the early 20th century created an etching to accompany a calavera poem. In one of his murals, famous artist Diego Rivera, husband to Frida Kahlo, included a stylised skeleton, similar to Posada’s.

Detail of Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central, Diego Rivera, 1947

He dressed the skeleton in a large lady’s hat and called her Catrina. The calavera Catrina is the inspiration for many of the costumes worn during the Day of the Dead parades, and is obviously the inspiration for my Frida Catrina!