What is a "Catrina"

If you know a little bit of Spanish, you may know that the language has a gender, feminine and masculine, and Catrina is the feminine word of "Catrin". This word is very popular in Mexico and it refers to a very elegantly dressed up gentleman, so that being said "Catrina" means a very elegantly dressed lady.

But what is the tradition of "La Catrina" in the day of the dead?

In the early's 1900's a political cartoonist, Jose Guadalupe Posada, used the drawing of a female skeleton adorned with a French hat with ostrich feathers to represent some people of indigenous descent (known as garbanceros) that were ashamed of their indigenous background and who often pretended that they were "European".

He used this cartoon as a satiric symbol of what was happening in Mexico at that time before the Revolution of 1910; where the social classes in Mexico were very divided and the high class was strongly influenced by the European culture.

The Catrina represented the high class of the era, where many ladies used a lot of make up to cover their skin color and used a lot of tacky faux jewels and elegant dresses.

In the first publication of his drawing he also wrote "Calaveras" a literary poem dedicated to the dead, that was strongly directed to the political issues of the time.

Diego Rivera in one of his most famous art works, painted a mural with a Catrina in the center, also used to represent the high class society of Mexico.

I remembered that around the beginning of November, one of our homework assignments was to write a "Calavera". My family used to love to read the newspaper on Nov 1st, in order to read the calaveras and even in some years we wrote calaveras to all of the members of our family.

Inspired in that tradition I have made some cookies, and here are some pictures.I hope you enjoy my representation of the rich history and tradition that stems from the Catrina.

Catrina Cookies Click HERE