In the not-too-distant past, I might have argued that we had reached peak Catrina — the skeleton image linked with Día de los Muertos was everywhere from keychains to restaurant murals — and was becoming cliché.
A giant La Catrina sculpture in Oakland has proven me wrong.
On Thursday morning, a crowd of hundreds gathered in the Fruitvale Transit Center plaza to officially welcome the towering 34-foot sculpture, with fanfare usually reserved for a foreign dignitary.
Elected officials, including Mayor Barbara Lee and the Consul General of Mexico, offered remarks. A ballet folklórico from Oakland’s Fremont High School, Turf Inc. dancers and a mariachi performed. Bystanders cheered and took selfies…