La Catrina, a colourful lady skeleton with a large hat and elegant clothing, is THE symbol of the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and is famous beyond Mexico’s borders. In German, La Catrina translates as something like “the rich” or “the wealthy”.
The figure was probably created by the Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada making fun of the pre-revolutionary Mexican upper class.
The representations became particularly popular during the revolution and found their way into Mexico’s cultural self-expression. Diego Rivera even uses La Catrina in his painting Sunday Dreaming in the Alameda.
The cult around the colourful lady skeleton lady has become a popular tradition and many people apply makeup and dress up as La Catrina for “Día de los Muertos”. The Pixar film COCO, also brought La Catrina and Day of the Dead into the limelight and it is now an international phenomena.
We found a particularly festive environment filled with catrinas and people dressed up in Mixquic for the Día de los Muertos. Check it our on our Youtube-Channel.