Francisco I. Madero (1873-1913) was a wealthy lawyer from the north of Mexico who by 1910 had crystallized around himself the opposition to Diaz's reelection. Escaping from prison to the north, Madero slowly descended on Mexico city after the outbreak of the Revolution (Nov. 20, 1910) and entered the capital in triumph in the spring of 1911, becoming President a few months later. He failed to rally the country around him, however, and was forced to combat several rebellions. One of his own generals, turned against him, forced him to resign, then had him murdered in 1913.

One of the purposes of the depiction of "calaveras" is to remind us, those with power and those without power, that the end comes for us all.