BY ALMA CHASE
While Carnegie, Rockefeller, and JP Morgan were successfully growing their businesses in the USA, Mexico was living under a dictator’s rule. (Porfirio Diaz) This era was great for Mexico from a macroeconomic point of view since the foreign debt had been paid off and there was an advance in technology, among other things. In the fine arts, there was a surge that led to Mexican exhibitions around the world.
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But the country was still (agriculture) a tough place to work. The indigenous people still faced exploitation and mistreatment, and the system that supported an entire country was harsh to those who made it work. They used to work for landlords and didn’t have the right to have their own parcels.
In this rush to modernize, the idea was to look to other countries for inspiration and try to catch up with them. Porfirio Díaz thought France was the country to look up to because it was the cultural capital of the world at the time.
At the time, the general mindset was one of embracing modernity and moving forward. This led to a preference for foreign products, including clothing, fabrics, textiles, and other items from France.
Clothing, fabrics, accessories, cosmetics, and other luxury items. And that is where Catrina was born.
Who is La Catrina?
She is the figure most associated with the Day of the Dead and death in general in our country, being one of the icons with which Mexico is known abroad. La Catrina is a character created by the Mexican painter, illustrator and cartoonist from Aguascalientes, José Guadalupe Posada. It is worth mentioning that the original version of La Catrina is a metal engraving by the artist.
The Catrina is a Mexican symbol original name was “La Calavera Garbancera”, (Chickpea Skeleton) and it was a term used to refer to people who, even though they had indigenous blood, stopped selling corn to sell chickpeas, pretending to be Europeans, either Spanish or French, and thus denying their own race, heritage and culture.
Originally, the skull is not dressed, it only wears a hat, which has been interpreted as a criticism of the poverty in which Mexicans lived.
“…in the bones but with a French hat with ostrich feathers,” said José Guadalupe Posada.
It was not until 1947 when the muralist Diego Rivera (Frida Kahlo’s husband) used this character, giving her the elegant attire we all know today, baptizing her as “La Catrina”, in his mural “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central” (Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Central Alameda).
Today the figure of “La Catrina” is the most representative image of the Day of the Dead and Mexico. Nowadays it is one of the most used costumes and make-up. It stopped from being a drawing on paper to become an element of our Mexican culture totally alive.
