A Calavera Catrina Doll for the Day of the Dead<\/h3>\n
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The sight of the world\u2019s most famous fashion doll wearing skeleton makeup might startle some people. But anyone who\u2019s celebrated D\u00eda de Muertos knows Barbie is simply joining in the holiday\u2019s fun!<\/p>\n
Because the Day of the Dead is a time for fondly remembering ancestors and deceased loved ones, many of its traditions are domestic. Families decorate ofrenda (household \u201caltars\u201d) with flowers, photos, candles, and food to welcome dead relatives\u2019 spirits home. They\u2019ll eat sweet pan de Muerto (bread of the dead) and sugar skulls.<\/p>\n
But D\u00eda de Muertos is also a time for long, loud parades and street parties. Many revelers wear elaborate costumes and paint their faces to look like Calaveras (skeletons).<\/p>\n
One specific skeleton gets special attention during the Day of the Dead: La Calavera Catrina.<\/p>\n
Pioneering Mexican printmaker Jos\u00e9 Guadalupe Posada created her around 1913 as a skeletal satire of wealthy Mexicans who wanted to look European. Acclaimed painter Diego Rivera included her in his epic mural of Mexican history, Sue\u00f1o de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central<\/em> (1946-47).<\/p>\n She is a popular subject of Mexican art year-round. But La Catrina is the beloved face of D\u00eda de Muertos. Her regal bearing reminds us to live with dignity and grace despite our mortality. And her extravagant finery is a summons to enjoy life while it lasts.<\/p>\n After all, as Posada declared through his art, someday we will all<\/em> be Calaveras!<\/p>\n Like all Barbie Signature Dolls, the D\u00eda de Los Muertos Barbie boasts exquisite, affectionate attention to detail.<\/p>\n As Mattel executive Cristina Lorenzo said (in Spanish) when unveiling it in Mexico City earlier this year, \u201cThe doll was designed with a lot of love for tradition because the designer, Javier Meabe, has Mexican roots, and knows the importance of this holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n Barbie wears not only intricate sugar skull makeup but also a crown of orange marigolds and monarch butterflies. Marigolds and monarchs are two dominant Day of the Dead symbols. The monarchs\u2019 migration to Mexico roughly coincides with the holiday. Tradition holds the butterflies are the spirits of the dead. People use the bright, fiercely fragrant marigolds, which also symbolize life\u2019s fleeting beauty, to guide those spirits home.<\/p>\n Barbie\u2019s D\u00eda de Muertos full-length, ruffled black dress is delicately embroidered with red and yellow flowers on green vines. Printed flowers, sugar skulls, and butterflies adorn its lower outer layer, as do several small plastic butterflies; a sheer, lace-trimmed layer is underneath. Meabe told the New York Times he based Barbie\u2019s dress on dresses his mother wore.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re giving this Day of the Dead Barbie as a gift, you may not want to wrap it! An embossed portrait of Barbie\u2019s made-up face adorns its front. Its sides bear printed images of sugar skulls and candles. The packaging is its own work of art.<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re keeping the D\u00eda de Muertos doll for your own collection – perhaps to complement the two other special edition Mexican Barbie dolls, inspired by artist Frida Kahlo<\/a> and golfer Lorena Ochoa – you\u2019ll find a display stand inside, along with a Certificate of Authenticity.<\/p>\nArtful and Affectionate Attention to Detail<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nA Beautiful D\u00eda de los Muertos Barbie for a Major World Holiday<\/h3>\n