Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

Narrated by Armando Duran, this iconographic-animated adaptation of author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh's 2015 picture book provides intricate details about the Day of the Dead “calavera” skulls that were made popular by Mexican printmaker and engraver José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913). The son of a baker who had eight kids, Posada had an older brother—a teacher—who encouraged José to enroll at an art academy, where he learned skills such as lithography. The artist's big break came with his mocking cartoons of local politicians in The Bumblebee newspaper. Funny Bones looks at Posada's marriage, migration to Mexico City after a devastating flood, and etching techniques that led to his best-known work: the calavera, including the “La Catrina” female dandy skulls used during holiday festivals. Contrasting his festive works with his critically aggressive Mexican Revolution conflict art, the program notes that Posada's fame primarily came from historians and artists such as Diego Rivera who recognized him after his death. Featuring a read-along option and a bonus author's note, this portrait of the life and times of a little-known artist is recommended. Aud: E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)