7 calaveritas to dedicate this Día de Muertos

For your partner, your parents, your in-laws, your compadre or whoever you choose

This year, give the gift of calaveritas

Cause the year hasn’t been too good on our pockets…

But first…

What’s a calaverita?

Calaveritas, literally translated as little skulls, are an essential part of every Día de Muertos. Moreover, they’re an essential part of Mexico as a whole. Since elementary school, we’ve been writing calaveritas when the season approached.

If you haven’t heard about them yet, let me tell you a bit about calaveritas. These are short poems written in rhyme, with humor, irony or any gesture of Mexican spice. Their topic must be surrounding death. That’s right, we’ve been mocking death since elementary school.

Calaveritias are usually dedicated to a loving relative, but they can also talk about famous characters, artists, politician (these tend to be less caring), or even of oneself. The main thing is that at a certain point, death must be played with.

The idea around this tradition, as many others in Día de Muertos, is to remember that death accompanies us every single day. It’s not necessarily bad, instead, just like calaveritas and altars, it can be filled with colorful touches and happy memories.

The nostalgic feeling is inevitable, of course, but it’s a way of remembering we’re human, and we’re all going to the same final destination.

How’s that for a philosophical note? Why hide the inevitable. Better look at it as a part of the journey, since this body is pretty much a lent vessel and life passes you by in a second. We’ll have a chance to meet again in the other side.

Anyways, you came here looking for calaveritas, and since I don’t want you to die waiting, here are seven of them for you… I even added dedication.

You may also enjou: Pib; A Delicious Feast in the Day of the Dead

Now, the calaveritas

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For your partner,

I stopped by the flower shop

To get you some roses

I bought you three dresses

In the store that was closest

For dinner I got us

Your favorite choices

But when I was coming

Not very focused

A spooky calaca

Jumped in my noses

“I am the reaper,

Don’t run and hide”

“I won’t I swear,

But before I die

Let me to my dearest

Say my goodbyes”

“I’ll let you, for sure

But to ensure your return

Leave all your presents

I’ll wait for you soon.”

And that’s why I’m here

All empty handed

I did not forget our anniversary!

But Death left me stranded

For your in-laws (not mine, of course)

I have been worried all week long

Thinking Death for me might have come

I feel Her around me, everywhere I go

Could it be that of this world, I’m being taken from?

I see Her in the corner, watching me close

This I told my girlfriend, cold as a rock

And just in that moment, I saw her again

“Dinner is ready” she said to us then

So I won’t be dying today, and that’s a good thought

But now I know I’m stalked, by my mother-in-law

For your compadre

My compadre never needed to have fun

To drink his good liquors

He needed only his rum

And find some fight-pickers

Ay compadre! You’re gone

And left me so bitter

Now I sit on your lawn

And watch some dead critters

But what is it I see

So far down the way?

It’s the reaper that’s coming

Laughing away

And next to her, my compadre

Joking around

We though he was dead

But partying he’s found!

For grandparents

In that house,

where all is old

With lots of food,

and rules forgot

Growing up

I never thought

That in an altar

I’d have you sought

Goodbye to those teachers

That left their mark

In this world

And in my heart

May Death receive you

With a beautiful fiesta

As I wait in the altar

With your picture puesta

As in this Día de Muertos

I will not rest

Until I see,

My grandparents again

For parents

Dear dad and dear mother

I am behaving, I swear

I learned from la chancla

You guys taught me well

Even though we’re far now

I fear no Reaper

As I talked to her and spoke

“Of them you’ll take neither”

For siblings

I was with my siblings

Doing mischiefs and tricks

Until unaware

We got in too deep

“How do will we go back?”

My dear sister asked us

And before we noticed

The Reaper came past us

“In order to go back

You must trade me a soul”

The Reaper was serious

As this to us She told

As fast as a lightning,

We each touched our nose

This ritual, the Reaper knew

Couldn’t be opposed

“Who came last?” She asked

But the game was too close

And after hours of debating

Her patience was lost

“Leave now, but please

Stop with this torture”

And that’s how we escaped

From certain death horror

For your bosses (don’t send it to mine, please)

A typical Friday

In the office I’m stuck

They all left, they left me

Even that guy, Chuck

I thought they had finally made it

Turned me mad with their stuff

When a dancing calaca

Appeared right in front

She seemed quite surprised

When she saw me chuckle

“Aren’t you scared?

Don’t you know I am trouble?”

Poor little Reaper

For you I’ve been waiting

Change my routine

And far away take me

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And that’s how far I’ll go today or I might get into trouble.

But don’t stop sharing this tradition so it can carry on living within ourselves.

And if you have written any yourself, I’d love to take a look!!

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