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Catrina is perhaps the most famous woman in Mexico. She is a creation of José Guadalupe Posada, a cartoonist and satirist who first presented her in 1910 as a way to poke fun at Mexican women who adopted European styles. In creating this image he was tapping into a pre-Columbian, pre-Catholic culture where the dead are not so far removed from the living and a portrait of death is also a celebration of life. Despite the many visiting Popes, Christianity is but a thin veneer over ancient animistic beliefs. In Mexico skeletons are everywhere, especially during the 'Day of the Dead', the first of November. Capula, a small town in Michoacan, is devoted to creating beautiful replicas of Catrina and her friends. |
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