La Catrina

One of the most iconic symbols of Día de los Muertos is "La Calavera Catrina," a high-society skeleton woman in a fancy floral hat, from a 1910 etching by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada. The satirical print showed that the European clothes and snobbish attitudes some upper-class Mexicans adopted at the time didn’t matter. We are all equal in death.

“My take is inspired by the Dia De Los Muertos tradition, and like most my work I incorporate tradition with iconic pop imagery. In this case, Frida embodies the Dame of Death in the form of La Catrina. Her famous monobrow and exuberant manner of dress let us know who she is. The natural grimace of the skull seems to express both her understanding and sense of humor to the fact that as she was once like you, you too will someday be as she is now.

The painting acts more like a Memento Mori or Vanitas painting; a reminder of death and that all is transient and in vain, as she sits back and smiles because much like Frida, she knows all too well that life is short and should be lived fully, yet not taken too seriously. So, smile, enjoy what has been given while we can, without fear, and bask in the bittersweet joy of life. Much like the sweetness of Mexico’s sugar skulls that adorn altars. For Death smiles at us all; all we can do is smile back.” – Francisco Franco