The “Calaca Obama” cartoon seen below is frightening on several levels.  First, “calaca” is a colloquial term for “skeleton” in Spanish.  Calacas — human skulls representing joyous dead figures in “Day of the Dead” celebrations — are supposed to suggest that even the dead deserve a celebration of their lives. Next, we need to understand in Guatamala, “calaca” means death and there is no mistaking graves for happiness in that cultural context.  Finally, for those who have no idea what a “calaca” is — we all recognize a skull is not a living soul and so we must wonder what insidious semiotic is being spent on us in the name of Barack Obama.  Halloween is tomorrow in the USA, but do we really want to be making disconnected, editorial cartoon, attributions of death against Barack Obama any time during the year?

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