Episode 26: The History of La Catrina ⇝ Skull-icon of Día de Muertos ☠ Revolution ☭ by Jose Guadalupe Posada
We are back and diving into the origins of La Catrina, the quintessential skelicon of Day of the Dead. Over the past 100ish years, her image has transcended borders, becoming synonymous with sugar skulls, Frida Kahlo, the Virgin of Guadalupe and even Santa Muerte.
From her first incarnation by Mexican printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posada in 1910 as “Calavera Garbancera” (Chick-Pea Calavera) print, all the way back to early depictions of (and actual) skulls found in Aztec and Mayan tzompantli; Her rediscovery and re-imagining by the Mexican Muralists in the early 20th century, even making a cameo in the larger than life mural by Diego Rivera in 1947 “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central” or “A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” and finally, the continuing rise of La Catrina’s visage in the present day.
We also discuss Europe’s Memento Mori moment in Hans Holbein the Younger’s “The Ambassadors” from 1533 as well as Francisco Goya’s Los Caprichos influence on Posada’s “Calavera de los Patinadores” or “Street-cleaning Calavera” from c.1900 and “Calavera Oaxaqueña” or “The Oaxacan Calavera” c.1910.
Topics include renegade saints, is Tim McCraw dead?, hybrid deities, Franceyness, psychedelic skulls, really just lots and lots and lots of skulls . . . .
Broadside from 1913 featuring Calavera Garbancera
Calavera Garbancera (Garbanzo Skull), c. 1910-12 by Jose Guadalupe Posada
Broadside featuring Calavera Oaxaquena (Skull from Oaxaca) from 1900 by Jose Guadalupe Posada
Broadside featuring Calavera de los Patinadores (Street Sweeper Skulls) from 1890 by Jose Guadalupe Posada
