La Calavera Catrina

Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central , de Diego Rivera, fresco (1947).

La Calavera Catrina is said to mean "The Elegant Skull". My knowledge of Spanish is too limited to confirm that, I know calavera means skull but I can not find a dictionary that confirms that catrín (catrina being the feminine form) means elegant. The image of the elegant skull comes from the Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada who made a zinc etching with the title La Calavera Catrina in 1910. Or, as another source tell me, the name was La Calavera de la Catrina which would mean 'the skull of the rich woman'. Again, I can not confirm nor deny this. If anyone with a better knowledge of Spanish can help me I would appreciate that. The etching however is without any doubt the one below:

Since then this image has been an important part of Mexican imagery and it is often used in the artwork for the Day of the Dead (the first days of November, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day). But the Mexican festival is quite different from the European celebration of these days, because it has roots in the Aztec festival of Mictecacihuatl, the Queen of Mictlan which is the Underworld. She keeps watch over the bones of the dead, which makes La Calavera Catrina the guardian of the cemetary.

So I am wearing this scent out of season, but it is too good to keep it confined to such a short period. The description is:

The Lady of the Graveyard! Autumn leaves, wild roses, bourbon vanilla, dry chamomile, and a bouquet of bright chrysanthemums and Mexican marigolds.

I smell tagetes in this scent, which is exactly what Mexican marigolds are: Tagetes erecta.

I think the colour of the Mexican marigold is a good image for how this scent smells. It is a strong scent, almost strong enough to wake up the dead. I can't say that I smell roses or vanilla, but I am sure they soften the strong tagetes scent. It is without a doubt a floral scent, but very different from what you would expect from a floral scent. Tagetes is nothing like fine roses or jasmine or tuberose. It is more like a raw kind of scent. But smelling as yellow-brown-orange as it does, it is also a festive scent. I think I'll wear it for our Dutch Koninginnedag, when everybody wears orange.