La Reina Catrina del Festival

One of the strongest and most recognizable symbols of The Day of the Dead celebrations is the tall female skeleton wearing a fancy hat with feathers. You have surely seen her in various contexts because the striking unique makeup has become very trendy in the last years. Her name is La Catrina and the essence of her story goes deep into Mexican traditions and roots but has been restyled only in the last century.

It is believed that the Aztecs worshipped a goddess of death that they alleged protected their departed loved ones, helping them into the next stages. The Mexican tradition of honoring and celebrating the dead is entrenched deeply in the culture of its people.

La Catrina is a strong visual image depicting how the Mexican people see death and the afterlife. Different cultures have diverse traditions in regards to death and how they deal with it individually and as a family. Mexico is very unique in their views of this fact of life and prefers to take it good-humoredly and passionately. That is not to say that they don’t grieve and miss a loved one who passes away. What it means is that they choose to celebrate the life and memories the person created while they were with them instead of indulging in the fact that they are gone forever.

La Catrina is about living your true self and it’s also about not pretending to be someone you are not. No matter what you look like and where you come from you will end up a skeleton in the end with everyone else!