Dia Die Los Muertos
Art and Background
If any of these interest you, the best place to search further is
Dia die Los Muertos Links.
The Day of the Dead Celebration has its own distinctive artwork and items.
Firstly and the signs that are most familiar are the Calaveras. These are
seen often as skeletal figures going about daily chores, or in little scenes.
Most of the Calaveras are made from lightly-fired clay,and are handpainted.
Below are some pictures from our collection. Most are purchased from the best
online shop I've found: Don Mujeres
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My favorite is by far this Ferris wheel which can
be turned by a smallcrank on the side.
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This one is a small toy made of clay resting in a
ceramic coffin. When you pull on the string, the skeleton sits up in the coffin.
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This is a fairly good representation of a rememberance
altar in clay.You can see candles, food, and bits of odds and ends resting
on the table.The rememberance altars are often built for family. (Although
at the DiaDie Los Muertos celebration at the Mexican Cultural Center in Atlanta
thisyear, one altar was constructed for Charles Schultz covered with Peanuts
memorabilia.)
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Another type of artwork associated with Day of the
Dead are punched paper patterns. The back of our cards is illustrated with
a typical and popular pattern. Artisans take up to 50 sheets of paper or thin
plastic. The images are then carved out with a combination of very sharp punches
and chisel-like instruments. Banners of this paper cutouts are strung across
the streets in many villages, in bright, vivid colors.
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Catrina is a VERY popular image (that's why we stuck
her on the cover of our game, the 7's, and the card backs.) and is the image
primary associated with the Day of the Dead. This dead elegant lady in a Victorian
Hat is copied in much of the folk art. Most of the other images which you
see are all based on the engravings of one artist: Jose Guadalupe Posada.
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Posada was an engraver who used traditional Day of the Dead imagery
in many of his satiric cartoons. These b/w engravings all date from a particularly
turbulent time in Mexican history - the early 1900's. I rarely see a paper
banner that is not based directly on one of his engravings, which may give
you an idea how thorough his influence is on Day of the Dead art.
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Lastly are sugar skulls. These are not actually intended for eating,
even though most are made from edible components, and are often given as gifts.
They are often used to decorate rememberance altars as well.
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