Dia de los Muertos is embraced wholeheartedly with handcrafted folk art through Latin culture. In celebrating the Day of the Dead, Mexican folk art reflects the cultural attitude of life and death, and often the depiction is of a happy skeleton doing everyday activities. You can truly see the heart in folk art that is handmade, hand-painted, and a lively expression of joy and dedication. Many are true collector pieces.

The Catrin & Catrina

A favorite theme that you’ll see often depicted in folk art is the well-dressed skeleton. The Catrina: Female skeletons in fancy dress with a frilly hat with lace and a feather- this image is referred to as Catrina. The Catrin: Male skeletons looking quite dandy in fine dress and a top hat is referred to as Catrin. The interpretation or idea behind this decoration stems from the European influence in Mexico in the late 1800’s, and the idea that no matter what fine things you have in life everyone has the same fate and equalizer in death.

My favorite folk art method to celebrate Day of the Dead is papier-mache. These delightful folk art pieces are colorfully handpainted and incorporate plenty of sparkle from liberal use of glitter! Clay and metal (or tin) are also commonly used in creation of folk art.

Amor Eterno

The photograph above is of a fanciful piece of folk art colorfully on display in San Jose del Cabo. The artist who created these figures is very popular, and his pieces highly collectible. The Bride and Groom are also very common images for Day of the Dead as they symbolize Amor Eterno… Going well beyond “‘til death do us part!”

Look at each handpainted flower in the surrounding display… This is a true testament to the attitude of Mexican folk art: unbelievable detail and all handmade with love.

While I’ve been happily collecting pieces here and there, bringing souvenirs home when possible, I’ve also been blessed to receive really beautiful pieces as gifts.

These immaculately detailed mariachi figurines from a shop in Akumal (Riveria Maya) make them true pieces of art. (I knew as soon the tissue was unwrapped, that a really special display was needed for these. As they were bobble heads, they needed to be hung. Lo and behold, I came across these rustic shadowbox frames and with a mirror, some glitter and creative paper finds, I made a folk-art piece of my own for these figurines to “live”. A happy mariachi couple who were entertainers with a fulfilling life dancing and traveling. Their wide smiles tell me they like it.)

The Luchador is also a bobble head from the same talented artist. Inside his display is a card of La Parca: the famous Mexican wrestler who wore full skeleton regalia.

This welcoming dancer is Señorita Roserita, a beautiful papier mache piece birthday gift, who made the long flight home from Cabo San Lucas carefully tucked into her own suitcase. The piece of art stands at about 24″ tall.

Handmade crafts and folk art are not just found in Mexico. With the popularity of Dia de los Muertos growing and more Americans learning about Day of the Dead, folk art travels. This Catrina piece was found in the decidedly un-Latin vacation spot of Fish creek, Wisconsin! I’ve kept my eyes open everywhere I go and have even brought home pieces from Brookfield Zoo. I look forward to sharing this collection of folk art with you in celebration of Dia de los Muertos!