On the cusp of the Day of the Dead, it's a propitious moment to plug a store called Miniaturas Felguérez, located at Hamburgo 85 in the Zona Rosa. For decades they have sold miniature toys -- dolls, soldiers, and the like -- but their specialty has been these tiny boxes, a few inches wide, tall and deep, that depict calaveras (skeletons) in comic situations.

They may be, as in this diorama, engaged in playing the Hallelujah Chorus.

Or there may be an explicit political message, as in this one, which says, "Mexicans, welcome to California."

Or in this, which depicts Mexican politicians as rats (rata is synonymous with thief in Mexican slang).

My favorite calavera here is a rendering of Marilyn Monroe. Actually I picked her up in Cuernavaca, but there is a whole host of celebrity skeletons at Felguérez.