History Main / Calacas

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': The Calacas are all skeletal, but their design include fully-functioning human eyes and small ornate markings. They are only allowed to venture to the land of the living when their living relatives have their photographs displayed on an altar during Dia de los Muertos and can take the astral forms of inanimate objects (from food to guitars and clothes) back with them. Living humans that are brought to the afterlife can only be sent back from a blessing of a relative that is already there before sunrise lest they turn into a calaca permanently. Should the memory of them on Earth fade away completely, they themselves fade away into "the final death".

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/calacas.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from top left: ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'', ''[[WesternAnimation/ElTigreTheAdventuresOfMannyRivera El Tigre]]'', ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'']]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': The Calacas are all skeletal, but their design include fully-functioning human eyes and small ornate markings. They are only allowed to venture to the land of the living when their living relatives have their photographs displayed on an altar during Dia De Los Muertos and can take the astral forms of inanimate objects (from food to guitars and clothes) back with them. Living humans that are brought to the afterlife can only be sent back from a blessing of a relative that is already there before sunrise lest they turn into a calaca permanently. Should the memory of them on Earth fade away completely, they themselves fade away into "the final death".

* ''WesternAnimation/LaLigaDeLos5'':
** Catrina is a living skeleton (like her namesake, La Calavera Catrina) who can manipulate bones and use them under her will.

* Christopher from the ''Literature/WaywardChilden'' series was in this type of world and even got engaged to a Skeleton Girl.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the Catrina is a variety of {{Psychopomp}} that takes the form of a beautiful skeletal woman, festively dressed and adorned with floral garlands, who welcomes mortals into the afterlife -- sometimes after easing a stubborn hanger-on off the mortal coil with a KissOfDeath.

They are often depicted in festive colors, playing instruments, and surrounded by leaves and flowers. Calacas iconography in art, facepaint, costumes etc. is also fairly common.

See also DemBones and FriendlySkeleton.

* ''WesternAnimation/DiaDeMuertos'': The Calacas are skeletal and have blackened eye sockets. The tiny calacas and the giant one have neither eyeballs nor glowing dots. The other calacas have eyeballs in their blackened sockets.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': The Calacas are all skeletal, but their design include fully-functioning human eyes and small ornate markings. They are only allowed to venture to the land of the living when their living relatives have their photographs displayed on an altar during Dia De Los Muertos and can take the astral forms of inanimate objects (from food to guitars and clothes) back with them. Living humans that are brought to the afterlife can only be sent back from a blessing of a relative that is already there before sunrise lest they turn into a calaca permanently. Should the memory of them on Earth fade away completely, they themselves fade away into "the final death."

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the Catrina is a variety of {{Psychopomp}} that takes the form of a beautiful, festively dressed, skeletal woman to welcome mortals into the afterlife -- sometimes after easing a stubborn hanger-on off the mortal coil with a KissOfDeath.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "James Baxter the Horse", a skeleton animated by its former owner's angry ghost has a decorated skull.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/ElTigreTheAdventuresOfMannyRivera'' episode "The Grave Escape", Manny and Frida end up in the Land of the Dead after a battle with supervillainess Santana of the Dead. With the help of Manny's superhero and super villain ancestors, they make it back to the land of the living and defeat Sartana's army of forgotten dead.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing,'' Calacas feature as a [[UndergroundMonkey variant]] Skleton encountered in [[FantasyCounterpartCulture South of the Border]].

* Calacas feature as a [[UndergroundMonkey variant]] Skleton encountered in [[FantasyCounterpartCulture South of the Border]].

See also DemBones.

* In the ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn'' solo title, Harley's villain and later ally Harley Sinn has facial tattoos in a Calaca design.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': The Calacas are all skeletal, but their design include fully-functioning human eyes and small ornate markings. They are only allowed to venture to the land of the living when their living relatives have their photographs displayed on an altar during Dia De Los Muertos and can take the astral forms of inanimate objects (from food to guitars and clothes) back with them. Living humans that are brought to the afterlife can only be sent back from a blessing of a relative that is already there before sunrise lest they turn into a calicos permanently. Should the memory of them on Earth fade away completely, they themselves fade away into "the final death."

!!Examples

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:Music]]
* Music/RobZombie, his wife and the rest of the band in the music video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXvTk-N0HKo The Life And Times Of A Teenage Rock God]]" wear face-paint that evoke the calacas look, with Rob and the band dressed like a mariachi band driving in a flower-decorated car with {{Satan}} while Sheri Moon Zombie is dressed as Santa Muerte.

[[AC:Podcasts]]
* "Ladies and Skeleton", a segment of ''Podcast/TheThrillingAdventureHour'' "A Halloween Beyond Belief" episode, features Frank and Sadie Doyle confronting a Calaca. Here, the Calaca is described as a monster that kills via InvoluntaryDance and, in the past, it killed and has since enslaved the spirit of Frank's first love. His victim gets away and, when it appears to take her back, speaks with a stereotypical accent with rattling noises in the background to suggest the bones. The Calaca can only be killed by a silver bullet. Frank utilizes a previous episode's ChekhovsGun, literally the gun wielded by famed playwright and werewolf hunter Anton Chekhov, to dispatch it.

[[AC:TableTopGames]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Sombra and Reaper, the two Mexican/Mexican-American members of the terrorist group Talon, both use calacas-derived imagery in their gear. Heath packs and enemies hacked by Sombra display electronic sugar skulls, and she also wears calavera face paint in her Los Muertos skins. As for Reaper, his El Blanco and Mariachi skins replace his standard skull mask with a more elaborate calavera one.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Sombra and Reaper, the two Mexican members of the terrorist group Talon, both use calacas-derived imagery in their gear. Heath packs and enemies hacked by Sombra display electronic sugar skulls, and she also wears calavera face paint in her Los Muertos skins. As for Reaper, his El Blanco and Mariachi skins replace his standard skull mask with a more elaborate calavera one.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ElTigreTheAdventuresOfMannyRivera'' episode "The Grave Escape", Manny and Frida end up in the Land of the Dead after a battle with supervillainess Santana of the Dead. With the help of Manny's superhero and super villain ancestors, they make it back to the land of the living and defeat Sartana's army of forgotten dead.

%% Clockwise from top left: ''Coco'', ''Grim Fandango'', El Tigre, The Book of Life

Steeped in Mayan culture that wasn't erased by Spanish conquest, Calacas are representations of the dead celebrated in Mexican art and holidays. Particularly Dia de los Muertos.

If you find yourself in a Mexican inspired SpiritWorld, chances are you'll run into these as living skeletons. For them being dead isn't all that bad at all, it's not much different from being alive. Their "lifeblood" is tied to their living descendants' memories of them in the real world. They experience a final death when they are completely forgotten by the living. Until then, death is seen as a natural and joyous part of anyone's life cycle.

* ''{{VideoGame/Overwatch}}'': Sombra and Reaper, the two Mexican members of the terrorist group Talon, both use calacas-derived imagery in their gear. Heath packs and enemies hacked by Sombra display electronic sugar skulls, and she also wears calavera face paint in her Los Muertos skins. As for Reaper, his El Blanco and Mariachi skins replace his standard skull mask with a more elaborate calavera one.

%% Clockwise from top left: ''Coco'', ''Grim Fandango'', ?, ?

If you find yourself in a Mexican inspired SpiritWorld, chances are you'll run into these as living skeletons. For them being dead isn't all that bad at all, it's not much different from being alive. Their "lifeblood" is tied to their living descendants memories of them in the real world. They experience a final death when they are completely forgotten by the living. Until then, death is seen as a natural and joyous part of anyone's life cycle.

[[AC:Other]]
* "Ladies and Skeleton", a segment of ''Podcast/TheThrillingAdventureHour'' "A Halloween Beyond Belief" episode, features Frank and Sadie Doyle confronting a Calaca. Here, the Calaca is described as a monster that kills via InvoluntaryDance and, in the past, it killed and has since enslaved the spirit of Frank's first love. His victim gets away and, when it appears to take her back, speaks with a stereotypical accent with rattling noises in the background to suggest the bones. The Calaca can only be killed by a silver bullet. Frank utilizes a previous episode's ChekhovsGun, literally the gun wielded by famed playwright and werewolf hunter Anton Chekhov, to dispatch it.

* VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey: Tostarenans in the Sand Kingdom are colorful skeletons wearing ponchos and sombreros, often seen carrying maracas.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': The Calacas are all skeletal, but their design include fully-functioning human eyes and small ornate markings. They are only aloud to venture to the land of the living when their living relatives have their photographs displayed on an altar during Dia De Los Muertos and can take the astral forms of inanimate objects (from food to guitars and clothes) back with them. Living humans that are brought to the afterlife can only be sent back from a blessing of a relative that is already there before sunrise lest they turn into a calicos permanently. Should the memory of them on Earth fade away completely, they themselves fade away into "the final death."