Festival World: Mexico

La Catrina 2021: Day to Remember & celebrates, Mexico City wear colorful costumes on Day of Dead parade, Pictures, Images Gallery.

Giant skeletons, colourful costumes, mariachi music and dancers filled downtown Mexico City yesterday as the Day of the Dead parade returned for the first time since the pandemic began.

Thousands of people, including locals and tourists, lined the route through the capital for a glimpse of the procession, which was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus.

"La Catrina", a skeletal representation of death that has become a symbol of one of Mexico's most important festivals.

The dancers and floats paid tribute to Mexican culture and tradition, from street food vendors to authors, icons of cinema and the painter Frida Kahlo.

With its bright colors and cartoonish skeleton costumes, the Day of the Dead has become an internationally recognised symbol of Mexican culture.

From 1-2 November, people across the country normally deck their homes, streets and relatives' graves with flowers, candles and colourful skulls.

The festival, which in 2003 was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, centres around the belief that the living and the dead can commune during the brief period.

First held in 2016, it was inspired by the opening scene of the 2015 James Bond movie 'Spectre'.

Dia de los Muertos 2021: Mexico City comes alive for Day of Dead parade, in Pictures, Images, gallery:

By tradition, the Day of the Dead was centered around the Christian holidays of All Saints Day, Nov. 1, and All Souls Day, Nov. 2. But in practice, the celebration now lasts weeks – marked with sugary pan de muerto, face-painting, parties, and giant painted skulls displayed around the Mexican capital.

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