Quick Answer
A calaverita is a little skull - and in Mexico that means three things at once: the sugar skull with a name on it, the children's candy ask on November 1, and the calaverita literaria, a satirical verse in which Death comes for somebody who is not dead.
- A calaverita is three things: a sugar skull, the children's Nov 1 candy ask, and a satirical verse.
- The verse is a mock obituary for somebody who is alive - a politician, a teacher, a friend.
- The ask is ¿me da mi calaverita?, and the activity is pedir calaverita. November 1 is the traditional day - in cities it now spreads across October 31 to November 2.
What it is
Literally a little skull, and in practice three related things that share a season.
The sugar skull is the object, the candy ask is the street custom, and the verse is the literary form. Mexicans hold all three without difficulty and context always says which.
The facts about calaverita
- Three senses
- A sugar skull. The children's candy ask on November 1. A satirical verse about somebody alive.
- The ask
- ¿Me da mi calaverita? Coins or sweets. The verb is pedir calaverita, and the traditional day is November 1 - in cities it now spreads over October 31 to November 2.
- The skull
- Calavera de azúcar, usually with a living person's name iced on the front. You give it to them.
- The verse
- Death comes for a politician, a teacher, a colleague who is not dead. Set as homework across the country.
- Origin of the form
- Credited to Fray Joaquín Bolaños, La portentosa vida de la Muerte, 1792 - though UNAM says the dates are imprecise.
- The press years
- Published in newspapers from the late nineteenth century as mockery of the powerful.
- La Catrina
- Came out of a José Guadalupe Posada engraving made for exactly these verses.
Literal meaning
Calavera is a skull; calaverita is the diminutive. The diminutive is doing real work here - it is what makes an image of death affectionate rather than grim.
That softening is the whole cultural move. Putting a living friend's name on a sugar skull, or writing a rhyme about their funeral, only works because the word is small.
How it works in Mexico
Children ask for it directly: ¿me da mi calaverita? The verb is pedir calaverita, coins or sweets is the answer, and the traditional day is November 1 - the day for the dead children, which is why it is children doing the asking. In cities it now spreads across October 31 to November 2, alongside Halloween.
The sugar skulls are sold in markets from mid-October, and getting one with your own name on it is normal and slightly funny.
The calaverita literaria is a school assignment across the country and a newspaper fixture. The target is usually somebody in charge.
The form has a documented political past. Printed examples survive from as early as 1849, in a Guadalajara paper, and by the late nineteenth century the verses were a newspaper fixture mocking the powerful - illustrated by José Guadalupe Posada, whose skeleton in a feathered hat became La Catrina.
Examples
- ¿Me da mi calaverita?Can I have my candy?
- Le hicieron una calaverita al director.They wrote a calaverita about the principal.
- Compré una calaverita con tu nombre.I bought a sugar skull with your name on it.
- Nos dejaron escribir calaveritas de tarea.They set us calaveritas for homework.
Where you'll hear it
- A sugar skull with a colleague's name on it, handed over at a desk
- November 1, a doorbell, and three children who have done this before
- A classroom where thirty children are writing rhymes about their teacher dying
- A newspaper page of verses about the cabinet, printed every year
Mini dialogue
Common mistake
Reading the verses as morbid. The joke is that the subject is alive; the poem is written about a death that has not happened and is not going to.
Assuming the candy ask is Halloween in Spanish. It is a separate custom on a separate day, and in Mexican cities both now happen - which is exactly why the distinction is worth having.
Don't sound gringo
one word, three things. a sugar skull, the kids asking for candy on nov 1, and a mock obituary in verse about somebody alive.
The candy ask is the one you will meet on the street. Children come to the door with ¿me da mi calaverita?, and the verb for the whole activity is pedir calaverita - salieron a pedir calaverita. The right answer is coins or sweets.
November 1 is the traditional day, and it is not arbitrary: the 1st belongs to the muertos chiquitos, the dead children, which is why it is children who go door to door. In practice in cities you will meet them anywhere from October 31 to November 2, because Halloween now runs alongside it.
The sugar skull is the object: calavera de azúcar, often with a name iced across the forehead. The name is usually of somebody living, which is the joke - you give one to a friend.
The calaverita literaria is a short satirical verse in which Death comes for somebody who is very much alive: a politician, a teacher, a colleague. Every Mexican writes one at school. They ran in newspapers from the late nineteenth century as mockery of the upper classes, and the engraver José Guadalupe Posada illustrated them - one of those illustrations became La Catrina.
The origin of the form is credited to Fray Joaquín Bolaños's La portentosa vida de la Muerte (1792), though UNAM notes the dates are imprecise. Whatever the start, the point has stayed the same: the joke is that you are not dead, and Death is coming anyway.
FAQ
What is a calaverita?
Three things: a sugar skull, the children's candy ask on November 1, and a satirical verse about somebody who is still alive.
What does ¿me da mi calaverita? mean?
Can I have my candy. Children say it on November 1, and coins or sweets is the answer.
Is it the same as trick-or-treating?
No - a separate custom with its own day, November 1, the day for the dead children. In cities the two now overlap across October 31 to November 2.
What is pedir calaverita?
The verb phrase for the whole activity - salieron a pedir calaverita. It is what adults call it.
What is a calaverita literaria?
A short satirical verse in which Death comes for somebody who is very much alive - a politician, a teacher, a colleague. Every Mexican writes one at school.
Where does the verse form come from?
Credited to Fray Joaquín Bolaños's La portentosa vida de la Muerte, 1792, though UNAM notes the dates are imprecise. It became a newspaper form in the late nineteenth century, mocking the powerful.
What is the connection to La Catrina?
José Guadalupe Posada illustrated these verses, and one of those engravings became the elegant skeleton in the feathered hat.
Whose name goes on a sugar skull?
Usually somebody living. That is the joke, and giving one to a friend is an ordinary thing to do.
calaverita vs Halloween, ofrenda and La Catrina
calaveritavsHalloween
The candy ask rhymes with trick-or-treating and is a different thing on a different night - the calaverita ask is November 1, and in Mexican cities the two now happen side by side.Page coming sooncalaveritavsofrenda
The altar. A sugar calaverita goes on it; the word for the altar itself is ofrenda or altar de muertos.calaveritavsLa Catrina
The elegant skeleton in the feathered hat. She came out of a Posada engraving made for exactly these verses, so they are related - but she is an image and this is a word.Page coming sooncalaveritavscalavera
The full-size word. A calavera is a skull; the diminutive is what carries all three of these senses.Page coming soon
Related words
Test yourself
Tap an answer.
A child at your door on November 1 asks '¿me da mi calaverita?' What do they want?
Who is a calaverita literaria written about?
The one thing
a calaverita is three things: a sugar skull with a living person's name on it, the kids' nov 1 candy ask, and a satirical verse about somebody who is not dead. posada's version became la catrina.
Sources
- PressDía de Muertos: el origen de las calaveritas literariasEl InformadorCites UNAM: the dates are imprecise, and the form is credited to Fray Joaquín Bolaños in 1792.
- Press¿Cuál es el origen de las calaveritas literarias?El UniversalOn the late-nineteenth-century newspaper verses mocking the upper classes.
- ContextCalaveritas literarias: historia, crítica social y tradición mexicanaEl LibreroOn the satirical function specifically, and on Posada's engravings.
- PressDía de muertos: cuál es el origen de las calaveritas literariasInfobae MéxicoTraces the line from the verses to La Catrina.
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