Mexican Dia de los Muertos is a joyful statement of death acceptance and a moment to honor loved ones who have died. The tall female skeleton wearing a fancy hat with feathers is one of the most recognizable symbols of this holiday. 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. She is a skeleton drawn by cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada in the early 1900s as a satirical figure. The primary colors for La Catrina are red, white, and black. Red symbolizes the love for departed family members and friends, black and white evoke mortality and ghosts. La Catrina Calavera is also known as sugar skull.
If you search for “sugar skull makeup” on YouTube, you’ll get thousands of tutorials on the look, and the millions of views.
Last year I came across a beautiful photo of La Catrina and shared it on my Facebook page. It went viral and became the most popular photo I’ve ever posted! It reached over 1,2 million people and was shared more than 10,5k times. I had to find out who the beautiful woman was. It wasn’t that difficult because she commented the photo I posted.
The model was Christina Sanchez. Every year for the past 16 years she has dressed as a Catrina and attended the celebration at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles to honor her father who passed away in 2004. Over the years her outfits and makeup have become more professional and her image has become something that people really connect with. As the years went on, Christina was incredibly inspired and had visions of exactly what she wanted to look like. She was lucky enough to find amazing designers that helped her make her ideas a reality.
When her father passed away, Christina learned about Dia de Los Muertos and that you die 3 deaths: one when you stop breathing, one when you are buried, and when the last person on Earth forgets about you. That was a tradition she wanted to be a part of.
Christina received many recognition both nationally and locally for sensational outfits. She has been featured in the LA Weekly, Downtown Weekly, CBS News and other media outlets.
I cannot wait to see the photos from this year Dia de los Muertos celebraion!
Visit Christina online for more La Catrina makeup inspiration:
Instagram: catrinachristina
Facebook: CatrinaChristinaOfficial
