page_title: Calavera
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Calavera / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Alfeñiques are sugar figures made during Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico.
context_page_description: A calavera [plural: calaveras] is a representation of a human skull. The term is most often applied to edible or decorative skulls made from either sugar or clay that are used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. Calavera can also refer to any artistic representations of skulls, such as the lithographs of José Guadalupe Posada. The most widely known calaveras are created with cane sugar and are decorated with items such as colored foil, icing, beads, and feathers.
  Traditional methods for producing calaveras have been in use since the 1630s. The skulls are created either for children or as offerings to be placed on altars known as ofrendas for the Día de Muertos, which has roots in the Aztec, Mayan, and Toltec cultural celebration of the Day of the Dead.
  The tradition of sugar skulls is for families to decorate their loved ones' ofrendas with both large and small handmade sugar skulls. Children who have died, represented by small sugar skulls, are celebrated on November 1. The larger sugar skulls represent the adults, whose celebration takes place on November 2.
context_section_description: Traditional production methods have been in use since roughly the 15th century. The process involves using molds to cast the calaveras. Production can be a lengthy process: a craftsman will usually spend roughly four to six months producing the skulls for a season. Traditionally made sugar skulls are considered folk art and are not meant to be consumed.
  The production process is more focused on the aesthetic appeal of the skull than on the taste or food safety of the product. Furthermore, many calaveras feature inedible decorations, such as beads, feathers, and foil. Some skulls were formerly decorated with sombreros, though these designs have mostly disappeared since the 1970s.
  The calaveras are then traditionally sold at outdoor market stalls beginning two weeks before the Day of the Dead.
  Other calaveras are produced to be edible. Most are cast as one piece from cane sugar (which can either be left unflavored or flavored with vanilla). Other calaveras may be made from chocolate. The calaveras are typically colored with vegetable dyes. Like the more decorative calaveras, these will sometimes have names written on the foreheads as well. Calaveras may be eaten, or kept for a few days and then thrown away.
caption: Sugar skulls offered for sale in Mexico
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