{"id":1142,"date":"2026-01-04T17:52:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T23:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas2\/capula-2\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T22:51:42","slug":"capula-day-of-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/en\/capula-day-of-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Capula"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.fa-master-tri-2026 .fa-master-bibliography ol,.fa-master-tri-2026 .fa-master-bibliography ul{column-count:2;column-gap:2.4em;padding-left:1.4em;}\n.fa-master-tri-2026 .fa-master-bibliography li{break-inside:avoid;margin-bottom:.8em;}\n@media(max-width:740px){.fa-master-tri-2026 .fa-master-bibliography ol,.fa-master-tri-2026 .fa-master-bibliography ul{column-count:1;}}\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"fa-master-tri-2026\" lang=\"en\">\n<h2>Capula: when clay learned to dress death<\/h2>\n<p>In some towns, clay is recognized first for its usefulness: a cooking pot, a casserole, a vessel for water and food. Capula, a community within the municipality of Morelia, belongs to that story. Long before catrinas filled shop windows and craft fairs, its potters had developed forms, decorations and techniques passed down through family workshops. To look at a catrina without also noticing a cooking pot is to tell only the most visible part of their story.<\/p>\n<p>Mexico&#8217;s Cultural Information System documents burnished and glazed pottery and the techniques and material challenges of the craft. Among them is the gradual shift toward lead-free glazes. Behind each finished piece lie the preparation of clay, drying, decoration and firing; behind those steps is knowledge gathered over generations.<\/p>\n<h3>From household pottery to a smiling figure<\/h3>\n<p>Today the catrina is an emblem of Capula, but its commercial success must not be projected centuries into the past. Local pottery has a far longer history than the arrival of the elegantly dressed skeletal figure. Cultural sources and potters&#8217; testimonies place the development of clay catrinas in the final decades of the twentieth century and mention the work of artist <strong>Juan Torres<\/strong>. Sources differ on the exact year of introduction, so assigning one date without reconciling specialist evidence would be misleading.<\/p>\n<p>Modelled in clay, the figure acquired its own life within Capula&#8217;s workshops. Dresses, hats and expressions unite skill, humour and an understanding of death that is not simply macabre. Not every object is a catrina, however. Decorative techniques such as <strong>punteado<\/strong> and <strong>capulineado<\/strong> also define Capula ceramics; they inspired the visual identity of the <strong>2023 Morelia International Film Festival<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>Learning does not happen only in showcases<\/h3>\n<p>In a testimony published by <em>Quadrat\u00edn<\/em> in <strong>March 2025<\/strong>, a Capula artisan recalled beginning to work with clay as a child, making toys and small figures before attempting more complex pieces. His account cannot stand for every household, but it shows that a craft is often inherited through ordinary family life, not just schools and contests.<\/p>\n<p>That is why the fair matters beyond the photograph of a monumental catrina. When someone buys directly from a workshop, the craftsperson is not merely a supplier of seasonal decoration: their knowledge receives a name and economic recognition. The fair is also a livelihood. This should be acknowledged without confusing a craft market with a family&#8217;s funerary ceremony.<\/p>\n<h3>A dated fair, an enduring craft<\/h3>\n<p>According to organizers&#8217; accounts and subsequent official communications, Capula&#8217;s Catrina Fair began in <strong>2011<\/strong>. For the <strong>2026 edition<\/strong>, the Michoac\u00e1n government announced dates <strong>October 18 to November 3<\/strong>, with approximately <strong>260 craftspeople<\/strong> and exhibitions. Those are facts about one edition, not a permanent annual timetable. Visitors in another year must consult a new announcement.<\/p>\n<p>Capula belongs to a cultural circuit associated with the Day of the Dead season, but it <strong>does not lie on the shore of Lake P\u00e1tzcuaro<\/strong>. Its fair should not be marketed as a Pur\u00e9pecha cemetery vigil. A visit opens a different door: objects through which a community converses with death, labour and its own economy.<\/p>\n<h3>The dignity of handmade work<\/h3>\n<p>Photographing a finished figure is easy. Seeing the years of learning behind a posture, a fold in the dress or a dotted line on the clay is harder. Capula&#8217;s richness lies in the continuity of pottery and its capacity to adopt new forms without ceasing to be a craft.<\/p>\n<p>A catrina may smile. Clay, in contrast, speaks with the patience of the hands that work it. Both belong to Capula&#8217;s contemporary story, though they did not begin at the same time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> Historical craft practices and the dated 2026 fair programme are distinct. No new interviews or current community access checks were conducted.<\/p>\n<section class=\"fa-master-bibliography\">\n<h3>Documentary sources (original titles)<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Sistema de Informaci\u00f3n Cultural, Secretar\u00eda de Cultura.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/sic.cultura.gob.mx\/ficha.php?estado_id=16&amp;table=artepmex&amp;table_id=68\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barro bru\u00f1ido de Capula<\/a>. Ficha t\u00e9cnica de la tradici\u00f3n alfarera, materiales, producci\u00f3n y esmaltes. <em>Tipo: registro institucional.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/moreliafilmfest.com\/conoce-las-artesanias-de-capula-que-inspiraron-la-imagen-del-21er-ficm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Conoce las artesan\u00edas de Capula que inspiraron la imagen del 21er FICM<\/a>. 9 de octubre de 2023; punteado, capulineado y presencia de catrinas. <em>Tipo: instituci\u00f3n cultural.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Alejandra Macedo, Quadrat\u00edn.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quadratin.com.mx\/cultura\/carlos-anaya-artesano-de-capula-que-uso-el-barro-para-hacer-sus-juguetes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Carlos Anaya, artesano de Capula que us\u00f3 el barro para hacer sus juguetes<\/a>. 29 de marzo de 2025; testimonio sobre aprendizaje y Feria desde 2011. <em>Tipo: testimonio period\u00edstico.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gobierno de Michoac\u00e1n.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/michoacan.gob.mx\/noticias\/destaca-bedolla-consolidacion-de-la-feria-de-la-catrina-al-pasar-de-20-a-260-artesanos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Destaca Bedolla consolidaci\u00f3n de la Feria de la Catrina<\/a>. 7 de octubre de 2026; convocatoria fechada. <em>Tipo: convocatoria 2026 \/ archivo.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gobierno de Michoac\u00e1n.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/michoacan.gob.mx\/noticias\/este-fin-de-semana-el-arte-y-la-tradicion-te-esperan-en-la-feria-de-la-catrina-en-capula\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Este fin de semana el arte y la tradici\u00f3n te esperan en la Feria de la Catrina en Capula<\/a>. 24 de octubre de 2026; exposici\u00f3n, oferta artesanal y cierre del 3 de noviembre. <em>Tipo: aviso institucional 2026 \/ archivo.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>Original Spanish titles and publication details are retained in the bibliography for accurate source identification.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Capula: when clay learned to dress death In some towns, clay is recognized first for its usefulness: a cooking pot, a casserole, a vessel for water and food. Capula, a community within the municipality of Morelia, belongs to that story. Long before catrinas filled shop windows and craft fairs, its potters had developed forms, decorations &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-must-see-destinations-art-and-roots-of-celebration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2606,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1142\/revisions\/2606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/experienciapatzcuaro.com\/fiestadelasanimas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}