Uriel Ortega represents life reflected in the mirror of its brevity: La Catrina and La Siriquiciaca within a frame of papel picado, an ornamental motif of our Day of the Dead, a celebration recognized by UNESCO in 2008 as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The idea of life’s brevity is reinforced by the skeleton supporting the composition, as well as the bones depicted on the flesh that will soon lose its freshness, as our Sor Juana reminded us: “This that you see, colorful deception, / which, displaying the finery of art, / with false syllogisms of colors / is a cautious deception of the senses,” for, in the end, even youthful beauty “is a fleeting desire, and, upon closer inspection, / is a corpse, is dust, is shadow, is nothing.” The color palette seeks both discordance and, at the same time, the unification of contrasting tones and elements, just as vitality and our inseparable mortality are contrasting. But being aware of our ephemeral nature leads us to enjoy each moment more, because any day could be the last on our personal calendar.