The Traditional Catrina Parade is Back

By Jesús Aguado

In Burger’s poem, “Leonore,” William tells Leonore “we and the dead travel lightly.” But the reality is that here, the Catrines and Catrinas who participate in the parade do not. They wear elegant dresses, feathered hats, stoles, and heavy shoes. Some designs even include rhinestones, and this year they even wear a facemask, to stop from dying when dressing up as the dead woman, an icon of the Day of the Dead in Mexico. One day, more than 20 years ago, Peggy Taylor, “La Catrina Mayor,” decided to dress as a Catrina and wander the streets. There was no one to put on her make up, so she decided to wear a mask and everyone who saw her wanted to take a portrait with her. She then she went out with her partner, and they danced tango on the streets.

The Cházaros family decided to counteract Hollywood by organizing Catrina parties at the Labradores ranch. After this, the Catrinas and Catrines went out to the streets of Centro distributing sweets to the children. All this led to the current parade. The idea was for San Miguel to someday become something like the Venice Festival, where everyone is disguised, and it seems that the dream has come true.

Today the Day of the Dead in the city is a hotbed of Catrines and Catrinas, all striving to look elegant, happily mocking death, and providing good photos to those who stop with a cellphone or with a professional camera to save the memory. The Catrina Parade, organized by Gretell Cházaro, turns 20 years old. And it will take place on Monday, November 1, at 8pm. Participants can buy a ticket for 750 pesos, and this gives them access to the makeup room at the Rosewood Hotel, a courtesy drink, a group photo, music, and a tour of the City Center. Gretell told Atención that she is happy that this year the city has granted permission to make the traditional tour, since in 2020 it was only done inside the hotel. The number of Catrines and Catrinas allowed, all with face masks, is 150. In non-contingency years that number was up to 250 people.

Cházaro said she is happy because although the number of disguised people who will join has not been counted, she says there are more than a thousand. This year, she indicated that due to the change of administration, she still does not know if the municipal administration will cover the expenses of music and mojigangas. For this reason, those who wish to participate in the event outside the hotel, are asked to donate 100 pesos.

She added that she still does not know if the contest for the best Catrina and Catrín will be held in the Jardin, but that at the end of the event, participants can go to dinner in the Rosewood, Cent`anni, and other restaurants that prepare special dinners. For more information, donations, and tickets, go to www.catrinasparadesanmiguel.com.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) states:

At present, the graphic image of La Catrina is one of the most famous Mexican symbols internationally. In Mexico, its presence has become increasingly common during the Day of the Dead festivities and represents the traits of mestizophilia and Mexican syncretism, with more history than meets the eye. La Catrina is a positive icon and has the possibility of evolving towards different types of graphic expression. Its mutability allows the creation of new forms that express the richness of Mexican culture, in the same way as Diego Rivera transformed Posada’s “garbancera” into a Catrina.