Who is La Catrina?

Catrina has been an iconic symbol of the Day of the Dead celebration for many years.  The character has been seen by people in many different ways throughout her interesting evolution.  Catrina first came to life on an etching that was created around 1910 by printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, a highly prominent and respected artist from Mexico.  Catrina, A genuine grande dame of death,  is one of various comical illustrations of skeletons that were made famous by Posada.  On his print, Catrina is depicted as an lavishly elegant woman who wears formal attire with much pride and exuberance. 

Although Catrina is now perceived as a cheerful personification of the Day of the Dead, she was actually created as a piece of political satire that mocked people of Mexico who, in the beginning of the 20th century, showed an obsession with European materialism and style and disregarded their own indigenous culture.  Catrina later became a  symbol of the contrasts between the upper and lower classes of Mexico. In more modern times, we see Catrina as a beloved image of the Day of the Dead celebration that represents not only the gleeful nature of the festivity, but also the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.