José Guadalupe Posada and the calaveras

José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913) was an engraver and illustrator from Aguascalientes, famous for his calaveras or calaveritas: satirical skeleton prints that mocked politicians and society and went with Day of the Dead verses.

His most famous image, the Calavera Garbancera, mocked people who denied their Indigenous roots. Diego Rivera gave her a full body and named her “La Catrina” in his mural Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central (1947). That is why Posada is credited with creating La Catrina, today an icon of the Day of the Dead.