Mexican Bags

Frida Kahlo de Rivera (1907 - 1954) was a Mexican painter renowned for her self-portraits depicting pain and passion. Her turbulent marriage to Diego Rivera and her long battle with ill health provided much of the inspiration for her work. She was not widely recognized as a great artist until the early 1980s, when the artistic movement in Mexico known as Neomexicanismo began.

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La Catrina is now a symbol of Day of the Dead celebrations held in Mexico every November. Wearing her signature hat she depicts a turn of the century upper class lady. She was created by Mexican engraver and illustrator José Guadalupe Posada. Posada (1852-1913) was also a political satirist renowned for his images of skeletons (calaveras in Spanish) which he used to mock the upper classes and social and political injustice.

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Loteria arrived in Mexico from Spain in the 18th century. Originally a hobby of the upper classes, it eventually became a tradition at Mexican fairs. The Loteria has now been adapted as a didactic tool, and many artists use its pictograms as a base for their art projects. The current images have become iconic in Mexican culture and are regarded as very "kitsch" in the US and Europe.

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is celebrated in Mexico on November 2nd when cemeteries all over the country are filled with noise, laughter and a blaze of colour. Small alters are built by friends and relations of the dead using skulls, photos, flowers, food and drinks and souls are encouraged to visit these gatherings to hear the prayers and messages of the living.