ITISNOTACOSTUME

IT👏IS👏NOT👏A👏COSTUME👏

It's original name is Calavera Garbancera (Chickpea Skull) and was created in Benito Juárez, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada and Porfirio Díaz governments to express the discontent of the people and was a symbol of social and political denunciation that eventually became a traditional wear for day of the dead. This wear is called La Catrina, its not a representation of dead itself but that of a dead woman, and it was created by cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada.

(this 👇 is the original calavera garbancera engraved in metal)

Back then texts called calaveras alegres (cheerful skulls) were written by middle class people critiquing in a mocking way the upper class and the country's situation and were published in "combat newspapers" - this texts were accompanied by drawings of skulls and skeletons dressed in gala clothes, drinking pulque, riding on horseback and in high society parties but all of this in lackluster neighborhoods to represent the misery, the political mistakes and society's hypocrisy.

Origin of the name cheakpea skull: cheakpea merchants were notorious for being indigenous people that tried to pass as European and denied they're indigenous origins and their culture. They would dress in high class clothes but live very precariously. Posada tried to convey that in this work of art that was a critique to the Mexicans that were poor but tried to sustain an European lifestyle that they couldn't afford.

Originally she was naked except for a very big and elegant hat with ostrich feathers. Diego Rivera dressed her up and gave her the name La Catrina when he painted this mural 👇

(Catrin was the name given to extremely elegant and wealthy Mexican aristocracy in XIX)

Posada said this about his inspiration: "Death is democratic. Blonde, brunette; rich, poor; everyone ends up being skulls" and this quote is basically the reason she became so traditional on the day of the dead, since it represents so well mexicans point of view about it.

And the texts that accompanied her (the cheerful skulls) became the calaveritas literarias (literary skulls) which are traditionally Mexican verse compositions that are written on the eve of the day of the dead as a manifestation of culture to make fun of both the living and the dead, and remember that we are all going to die. They are written in a satirical or burlesque language and are very short texts that reflect all the spirit and festivity in the face of death.

This

Is

Not

A

Costume

It

Is

Mexican

Culture

joaquin phoenix just slayed my life

what a PERFORMANCE

Ofrenda de Día de Muertos en las escalinatas de la Universidad de Guanajuato. Guanajuato, México.

Day of the Dead celebration. Guanajuato, México.

“Para un habitante de Nueva York, París, o Londres, la muerte es la palabra que jamás se pronuncia porque quema los labios. El mexicano, en cambio, la frecuenta, la burla, la acaricia, duerme con ella, la festeja, es uno de sus juguetes favoritos y su amor más permanente. Cierto, en su actitud hay quizá tanto miedo como en la de otros; más al menos no se esconde ni la esconde; la contempla cara a cara con impaciencia, desdén o ironía: ‘si me han de matar mañana, que me maten de una vez’.” - Octavio Paz (El Laberinto de la Soledad, 1950)

C.S Lewis

I stopped investing myself in the kpop scenery after Jonghyun's passing so I was pondering about writing about Sulli since the news came, and I still don't know if I should.

Jonghyun's passing was a great deal to me, I cried, I was triggered, and my mind was very unkind to me after it for a while. I was scared. And kpop became unbearable to me, I casually listen to some songs here and then but not as much or as frequently as I used to. I deleted all kpop from my music library and when I listen to it it's on YouTube cause I don't want spotify to start putting kpop everywhere on my tm.

I was never a big fan of f(x). I wasn't very aware of the group's story or its ups and downs but I enjoyed them. I always thought it was one of the best girl groups out there, so dynamic and talented. They were nice girls, very likeable. All of them. Luna was one of the best main vocals of the second generation, in my opinion. And they didn't go further because of SM's treatment and management... they could've been HUGE.

Im so sad to hear about Sulli. And I'm sorry for every fan out there that woke up to this news. Please take care of Korean idols, and mostly female ones, they get more hate than their male counterparts. They're hated for a bunch of reasons that male idols aren't, like being sexy, showing skin and being vocal.

That is what Sulli was, she was a quite vocal young woman in an extremely conservative, old fashioned and sexist country and industry. She was only 25.

Im tired of hearing of idols being mistreated and in poor health (both physically and mentally) because of the kpop industry. It doesn't matter what company they're from, all of them go through the same crap because this companies work towards commercialization and marketability according to the industry and the audience demands.

Groups from small companies are in far more precarious situations that the ones on the big three, don't get me wrong those three deserve every bit of criticism and accountability they get from us BUT "irrelevant" groups from small companies are treated WORSE. Most of them aren't paid at all and charged, instead, for their training, and they accumulate debts towards the company that they aren't capable of ever really paying because they keep taking dancing, singing and acting lessons that they're charged for and that they HAVE to take if they want to have a minimal chance at debuting, and if they have already debuted they don't get paid until they've settled their debt. And because the company is small and they have no resources or money, sometimes, sasaengs "sponsor" them in exchange of information and actual dates with the idols, that they can't refuse because of the company and their contracts (because of this contracts they can't leave, unless they pay the debt fully), exposing themselves to dangerous scenarios, and this sponsorship is added to the debt.

The reason I'm saying all of this is because I want you all to realize and acknowledge how f*cked up the kpop industry is and how much we, as international fans, need to care and take care of them and demand a change in how this gets down.

I want you to be conscious of how many idols are in this situation but we don't hear of it because they're irrelevant or simply because theyre not on the infamous big three. The big three are not trash, is the whole industry. Many young girls and boys feel like Sulli and have made radical decisions because of their situation.

If you're a kpop fan PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE care about what goes behind close doors. Care about your idols. START CARING AND DEMANDING BETTER TREATMENT OF THE ARTISTS YOU CLAIM TO SUPPORT AND LOVE.

P.S. Hara attempted suicide too not so long ago, so I can only imagine what she must be going through right now given that and the fact that she was close with Sulli, support Sulli's close friends in this time of need, please.