The Powerful Imagery of 2023 First Place Catrina Costume
Tara A. Spears
While all the costumes in the recent Day of the Dead/Dia de Muertos parade were beautiful, one entry stands out for its creative interweaving of historical elements with Huichol symbolism. This amazingly detailed costume was created by young La Penita resident, Stefh Lopez. Her interpretation of Catrina is brilliant, innovative, and composed of so many cultural details it needs more than a glance to truly appreciate.
What makes this outfit outstanding is Stefh’s use of native materials and historically purposeful colors to incorporate Huichol symbols. The result is more than beautiful, it is a reverent interweaving of facts and beliefs. Let’s take a closer look at Stefh’s exceptional design, excellent construction, and complex details in order to appreciate the importance of its symbolism.
Firstly, one needs to understand the point of a Catrina and why she is one of the main components of Day of the Dead Festivals. La Catrina, with her elegant attire and skull-like face, is an essential figure in the Day of the Dead because she represents the duality of life and death, reminding us that death is a natural part of the life cycle.
Catrina is a product of the irreverent spirit and rebellious fervor that ignited the 1910 revolution, lovingly kept alive and evolving over time, Catrina remains as relevant today as she was a century ago. Even before her creation in 1910, the image of a woman in death goes back to the ancient Aztec period. The artist Posada took his inspiration from Mictecacihuatl, goddess of death and Lady of Mictlan, the underworld according to SF Gate.
Starting at the top, the Catrina’s headpiece is an array of various size ‘eye of god’ symbol in deep blue, orange, yellow and red yarn. In Nayarit, this is a powerful Huichol belief, an amulet of great power and protection. The straw frame is typically covered with bright yarn in unique patterns.
Stefh explains, “At first when I was sketching my ideas in a notebook, I did three different models. Then I thought of something more representative that my Catrina should be, so I started doing my research of Cultura Wixarika. The Eye of God has lots of colors and each color has its own meaning. Red: It means God’s life in the east in the Parierekua area, which is the residence of the God Peyote. Blue: The color blue is water and rain which symbolized by Rapawiyene and the Chapala lagoon. Green: represents nature, life and fertility. Yellow: It is related to the sun, lighting and energy.” After completing the amulets, Stefh had to devise a means of attaching them to the model’s head. She too her sketch to a blacksmith who made the head frame.
When Stefh completed the headdress, she began painting the cloth for Catrina’s banner showcasing Huichol symbols in a beautiful composition. As she had to let color dry, she also hand painted the Catrina’s ornate belt. For Catrina’s skirt “I decided to make the outfit of beans because Nayarit is one of the five largest bean producers and I painted them by the traditional colors of the Wixarika culture. On her skirt I painted the important symbol of the blue deer because it is the messenger from God.” Stefh’s devotion is evident in the hand gluing of 1000s of dyed beans- even on the shoes-look at the final result! Marvelous ingenuity.
When this young mother of a toddler isn’t making a costume, she has a salon by appointment only in north La Penita, Stefh Lopez Makeup/Maquillaje y Alaciado, Calle Monterrey y Ebano, Colonia Cedros, 322 377 3050. After seeing this stunning costume, I remarked to Stefh that her attention to detail from studying chemistry at university carries over-but she should have majored in art or design with her flair for color, design and composition. What elevates Stefh’s creative Catrina is the deep tradition and thoughtful theme it embodies. Stunning and powerful, I love it more as I learn more about the symbolism.
This year’s Catrina contest theme was “free theme expression contest.” After seeing the lovely entries, I look forward to next year’s event. Clearly, the most complex and well executed ensamble was this Huichol Catrina. The stunning Catrina interpretation successfuly interweaves Huichol symbolism, which is all the more endearing for reminding us of the Mexican characteristic that is the ability to extract humor from protest, to poke fun at sacred symbols of any description with no concern that someone might take offense. All viewers of Stefh’s beautiful Catrina learned so much culture.
Thank you, Stefh, for sharing this innovative design with the community!
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