Calaveras Project Reflection

Brigid OBrien
1. Why are Calaveras Literarias traditional at Dia de Los Muertos?
Calaveras Literarias are traditional at Dia de Los Muertos (Day of The Dead) because those who
celebrate Day of The Dead consider the holiday fun and silly instead of sad and mournful. These
poems mock and make light of death. Another reason that Calaveras Literarias are traditional at
Day of The Dead is because of Jos Guadalupe Posada, a famous satirical cartoonist who made
portraits of the bourgeois society.
2. What was your calavera about and do you think you were successful?
My calavera was about the character Spike in film The Land Before Time. In this project I wrote
a short story/poem about how he died and what his problems in the afterworld were. In this case,
Spike was having difficulty trying to eat, which was his favorite pastime when living. He climbs a
tree (very easily now, since he is a skeleton and does not have fat), and tries to eat leaves. Since
he does not have a stomach he cannot eat, leading him to feel very sad and frustrated.
I think that I was moderately successful in doing this project. My calaveras story was well
thought out and edited multiple times, so I think that I displayed my hard work when writing it
and tried to make sure that I met the requirements on the rubric. My artwork, however, could
have used a lot more refinement. I could have started working on it long before I did, but due to
less than sufficient time management skills, I only worked on it for one day. I think that next time
we do a project like this I should start my artwork sooner rather than later.