Detail of "Un cuento de cartón" Day of the Dead Offering (2011) by Museo Dolores OlmedoMuseo Dolores Olmedo
During the month of October, Mexican families begin preparations for Los Dias de los Muertos, or The Days of the Dead, when the living invite the dead to return, share a feast, reunite with the family and the community, and serve as messengers between the living and the gods.
While customs vary from region to region, and even from village from village, ritual practices include making altars for the deceased, creating paths with flowers or candles from the cemetery to the home to help the dead return, cleaning cemeteries, placing offerings on graves and tombstones, holding vigils, ringing bells, and begging for food. The celebration, which begins at midnight on October 31st and ends on November 2nd, is a festive commemoration rather than as a solemn day of mourning.
The calavera (a word that means “skull” in Spanish but that has come to mean the entire skeleton) has become one of the most recognizable cultural and artistic elements of the Day of the Dead festivities. Made from wood, paper maché, sugar paste, or carved bone, the colorful calavera are joyful, celebratory figures.
Skulls and Marigolds (2012/2012) by LVMSmithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino
Flor del Muerto
Marigolds symbolized death in Aztec culture in pre-Columbian Mexico. These flor del muerto are used to decorate ofrendas and are painted onto the calaveras.
Day of the Dead Folk Art-Sugar Skulls (2012/2012) by LVMSmithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino
Sugar skulls
Calaveras are traditionally made from sugar, representing the sweetness of life. The calaveritas de azucar are part of the ofrenda, and symbolize the “earth” element along with other foods such as mole, chocolate, and pan de muerto (bread of the dead). The other elements are represented in the form of water, set out to quench the spirit’s thirst after its long journey; candles, which signify fire; and papel picado, or tissue-paper cut-outs, whose fluttering movements represent wind.
"Catrina" Doll (2003) by UnknownMuseo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid
La Catrina
The Catrina, a female skeleton wearing fashionable clothes (from catrin, the word for elegance), is the most recognizable female figure for the Day of the Dead. The Catrina figure first appeared under the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (1876-1911) as a satire of the upper classes.
Made famous around 1910-1913 by the engraver José Guadalupe Posada, the catrina reminds the living of the ephemerality of vanity and serves as a reminder that in the end, all becomes dust.
Catrinas made of clay by unknownMuseo Dolores Olmedo
Catrinas made of clay (Collection: Museo Dolores Olmedo)
Pop Culture Calavera (2012/2012) by LVMSmithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino
Pop culture calaveras
Mexican artists reinterpret calaveras as part of the Day of the Dead celebrations and in their own work. Modern calaveras sometimes incorporate pop culture motifs or refer to contemporary politics.
The Atomic Apocalypse – Day of the Dead (1980/1989)British Museum
This paper-maché equestrian calavera is part of a 132 piece set called “The Atomic Apocalypse” which includes specific references to 20th-century politics, such as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the Biafran War (1966–70), and the regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1901–89) in Iran.
80% H2O (2013 - 2014) by Abner Aod García CasillasHidro Arte - SACMEX
Casillas’ street art calavera incorporates the idea of water in relation to life and death. “Water is essential for earthly existence and in its absence [...] we could not simply exist.”
For Mexicans, the festive Days of the Dead are celebrated much differently than funerals, which are solemn occasions. Over time, the holiday has transformed into a jubilant display of art, literature, and music. The playfulness of contemporary Day of the Dead calaveras represent a counterpoint to the solemnity of death, and a reminder to all to savor the vibrancy of life.
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