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Calavera
A calavera (Spanish – for "skull") is a representation of a human skull. The term is most often applied to edible or decorative skulls made (usually by hand) from either sugar (called Alfeñiques) or clay, used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos) and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. ''Calavera'' can also refer to any artistic representations of skulls, such as the lithographs of José Guadalupe Posada. The most widely known ''calaveras'' are created with cane sugar and are decorated with items such as colored foil, icing, beads, and feathers. They range in multiple colors. Traditional methods for producing ''calaveras'' have been in use since the 1630s. The skulls are created either for children or as offerings to be placed on altars known as ''ofrendas'' ("offerings") for ''Día de Muertos'', which has roots in the Aztec, Mayan, and Toltec cultural celebration of the "Day of the Dead". The tradition of sugar skulls is for famili ...
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La Calavera Catrina
''La Calavera Catrina ''("Dapper Skull") or ''Catrina'' ''La Calavera Garbancera'' ("Elegant Skull") is a 1910–1913 zinc etching by the Mexican printmaker, cartoon illustrator and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada. Originally a satirization of an upper class woman of the Porfiriato, the character of ''La Catrina'' has become an icon of the Mexican Day of the Dead ( Spanish: ). Cultural importance The original leaflet was named "La Calavera Garbancera" by Posada, describing a person who was ashamed of their Native origins and dressed imitating the French style while wearing lots of makeup to make their skin look whiter. While the original work by Posada introduced the character, the popularity of La Calavera, as well as her name, is derived from a work by artist Diego Rivera in his 1947 completed mural ''Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central'' ("Dream of a Sunday afternoon along Central Alameda"). Rivera's mural was painted between the years 1946 a ...
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Day Of The Dead
The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage. Although related to the simultaneous Christian remembrances for Hallowtide, it has a much less solemn tone and is portrayed as a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and to remember friends and family members who have died. These celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed. Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased using calaveras and marigold flowers known as ''cempazúchitl'', building home altars called '' ofrendas'' with the favorite ...
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José Guadalupe Posada
José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar (2 February 1852 – 20 January 1913) was a Mexican political lithographer who used relief printing to produce popular illustrations. His work has influenced numerous Latin American artists and cartoonists because of its satirical acuteness and social engagement. He used skulls, calaveras, and bones to convey political and cultural critiques. Among his most enduring works is ''La Calavera Catrina''. Early life and education Posada was born in Aguascalientes on 2 February 1852. His father was Germán Posada Serna and his mother Petra Aguilar Portillo. Posada was one of eight children and received his early education from his older brother Cirilo, a country school teacher. Posada's brother taught him reading, writing and drawing. He then joined ''La Academia Municipal de Dibujo de Aguascalientes'' (the ''Municipal Drawing Academy of Aguascalientes''). Later, in 1868, as a teenager he apprenticed in the workshop of Jose Trinidad Pedroza, who taught ...
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Manuel Calavera
''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered static backgrounds. As with other LucasArts adventure games, the player must converse with characters and examine, collect, and use objects to solve puzzles. ''Grim Fandango'' is set in the Land of the Dead, through which recently departed souls, represented as ''calaca''-like figures, travel before they reach their final destination. The story follows travel agent Manuel "Manny" Calavera as he attempts to save new arrival Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, a virtuous soul, on her journey. The game combines elements of the Aztec afterlife with ''film noir'' style, with influences including '' The Maltese Falcon'', ''On the Waterfront'' and ''Casablanca''. ''Grim Fandango'' received praise for its art design and direction. It was selected for several awards and is ...
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Literary Calavera
The Literary Calavera or ''calavera literaria'' (Spanish: ''literary skull'') is a traditional Mexican literary form: a satirical or light-hearted writing in verse, often composed for the Day of the Dead. History Initially known as panteones, these verses had their origin in the 19th century as mocking epitaph and a way of expressing ideas or feelings that in other occasions might be difficult to express. For this reason they were often censored or destroyed, since they also often served as a means to express political satire. The first calaveras were published in 1879, in the newspaper ''El Socialista'', of Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me .... Features *They are irreverent verses, written as epitaphs, portraying people as if they were dead. *They ...
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Calaca
A calaca (, a colloquial Mexican Spanish name for skeleton) is a figure of a skull or skeleton (usually human) commonly used for decoration during the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, although they are made all year round. Description Tracing their origins from Mayan imagery, calacas are frequently shown with marigold flowers and foliage. As with other aspects of the Day of the Dead festival, calacas are generally depicted as joyous rather than mournful figures. They are often shown wearing festive clothing, dancing, and playing musical instruments to indicate a happy afterlife. This draws on the Mexican belief that no dead soul likes to be thought of sadly, and that death should be a joyous occasion. This goes back to Aztec beliefs, one of the few calaca to remain after the Spanish conquest. Calacas used in the festival include carved skull masks worn by revelers, small figures made out of carved wood or fired clay, and sweet treats in the form of skulls or skeletons. Calacas a ...
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Santa Muerte
''Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte'' (; Spanish for Our Lady of Holy Death), often shortened to Santa Muerte, is a cult image, female deity, and folk saint in folk Catholicism and Mexican Neopaganism. A personification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees. Despite condemnation by leaders of the Catholic Church, and more recently evangelical movements, her following has become increasingly prominent since the turn of the 21st century. Originally appearing as a male figure, Santa Muerte now generally appears as a skeletal female figure, clad in a long robe and holding one or more objects, usually a scythe and a globe. Her robe can be of any color, as more specific images of the figure vary widely from devotee to devotee and according to the rite being performed or the petition being made. The following of Santa Muerte began in Mexico some time in the mid-20th century and was clandestine until the 1990s. ...
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Papel Picado
Papel picado ("perforated paper," "pecked paper") is a traditional Mexican decorative craft made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper. Papel picado is considered a Mexican folk art. The designs are commonly cut from as many as 40-50 colored tissue papers stacked together and using a guide or template, a small mallet, and chisels, creating as many as fifty banners at a time. Papel picado can also be made by folding tissue paper and using small, sharp scissors. Common themes include birds, floral designs, and skeletons. Papel picados are commonly displayed for both secular and religious occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, the Day of the Dead, as well as during weddings, quinceañeras, baptisms, and christenings. In Mexico, papel picados are often incorporated into the altars ( ofrendas) during the Day of the Dead and are hung throughout the streets during holidays. In the streets of Mexico, papel picados are often strung together to create a banner ...
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1970s
File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: President of the United States, U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V sign#The V for Victory campaign and the victory-freedom sign, V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War in the early decade. The New York Times Pentagon Papers, leaked information regarding the nation's involvement in the war. Political pressure led to America's withdrawal from the war in 1973, and the Fall of Saigon in 1975; the 1973 oil crisis puts the United States in gridlock and causes economic damage throughout the developed world; both the leaders of Israel and Egypt shake hands after the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978; in 1971, the Pakistan Armed Forces commits the 1971 Bangladesh genocide to curb independence movements in East Pakistan, killing 300,000 to 3,000,000 people; this consequently leads to the Bangladesh Liberation War; ...
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Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican central plateau, at an altitude of . The city has 16 boroughs or ''demarcaciones territoriales'', which are in turn divided into neighborhoods or ''colonias''. The 2020 population for the city proper was 9,209,944, with a land area of . According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the population of Greater Mexico City is 21,804,515, which makes it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the world, the second-largest urban agglomeration in the Western Hemisphere (behind São Paulo, Brazil), and the largest Spanish-speaking city (city proper) in the world. Greater Mexico City has a GDP of $411 billion in 2011, which makes it one of the most productive urb ...
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