By
Lonnie Burstein Hewitt. Photos by Maurice Hewitt, except as noted.
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| Artist Luis Murguia merging with his La Muerte. |
Elegant
skeletons welcome you into the lobby of Encinitas Library, just in time for Dia
de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a holiday in Mexico and other Latin
American countries that honors departed loved ones and takes place from October
31 to the actual DOTD November 2. These skeletons are called Catrinas, and I
was happily able to interview the artist, Luis Murguia, who lives in Escondido.
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| Posing with Catrina Christina, his inspiration for La Muerte. (Photo by Luis Murguia) |
To
begin with: a little about Catrinas.
They
were originally created in the early 1900s by José
Guadalupe Posada, a political printmaker who was criticizing the dictatorship of
Porfirio Diaz and his high-end supporters who decked themselves out in European
styles during the Mexican Revolution.
In
1947, Diego Rivera created a large-scale mural that popularized the Catrina,
which gradually became a symbol of the Day of the Dead.
And
now, introducing our local Catrina artist: Luis
Murguia
was born in San José, CA, but his parents decided to move to
Tijuana to reunite with relatives there. They never really celebrated the Day
of the Dead, but as a child, he was very artistic, and when his family moved
back to California in the 1980s, he kept on painting, and friends and family
members began commissioning artworks from him.
He even did a mural for a Mexican restaurant in Arizona.
Then,
a few years ago, a relative asked him to create a skeletal Mariachi Trio for
his family. They had seen something like that at Disneyland, and thought it
would be great to have a similar piece for their home celebration of the Day of
the Dead.
“I
was just experimenting at that time, looking for new projects, so I thought
that would be a good challenge for me,” Luis said. “I came up with the idea of using PVC pipe
for the frame of each piece, which would keep them light. I’d worked with paper
maché
in school, so I thought of paper maché and
cardboard. And when I’m done with a piece, the painted finish looks like
ceramic or porcelain.”
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| The Mariachi Trio (Photo by Luis Murguia) |
At
first, he made his own skeletons; this time, he used store-bought skeletons and
created the pieces on top of them.
Still, each Catrina can take up to two weeks to make, depending on how
detailed it is: fine art isn’t easy.
Here’s
a little about each Catrina:
 |
| Libelula. Her name means dragonfly: See her dragonfly wings? |
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| La Catrina Azul. Inspired by a Catrina on a Solana Beach poster for a DOTD event several years ago. |
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| La Tapatia & El Charro. She’s inspired by La Catrina Andante, on instagram, he by El Charro Gonzales, a cultural ambassador for DOTD. |
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| La Catrina Rosa. Inspired by a pink dress Luis’s wife recently received as a gift. |
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| La Catrina Verde & El Catrin. Both inspired by cards in La Loteria. |
“When
you see a Catrina, it’s a reminder that we all have the same destination, and
life is to be celebrated,” Luis says. “And there’s one day a year we can
remember and honor the lives of our loved ones who have passed.”
Maurice
and I come to visit these Catrinas often: they actually lift our spirits, every
time. You can do the same, through January 5, 2027, when the exhibit ends. You
can even take one home for yourself—they are all for sale—or commission the
artist to create something special for you. Contact him at luis2152@att.net
Catrina/Day
of the Dead Exhibit by Luis Murguia
On view until Jan 5, 2027
Encinitas Library
540
Cornish Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024
760-753-7376.
Hours:
Monday10-6; Tues/Wed 12-7;Thurs 10-6;Fri-Sun 10-5.
Lonnie
Burstein Hewitt is an award-winning author/lyricist/playwright who has been
writing about arts and lifestyles for over a dozen years. You can reach her at hew2@sbcglobal.net
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