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Mexico comes alive during annual Day of the Dead celebrations

City officials expect more than 500,000 visitors as giant skeletons, floats and performers fill downtown streets for the annual parade.

  • On Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, people painted with skull makeup marched in the Paseo de las Animas parade in Merida, Mexico, marking the start of Day of the Dead festivities.
  • Rooted in ancient agriculture-related beliefs and later influenced by Catholic traditions, the holiday involves families gathering at cemeteries and decorating home altars on Nov. 1 and 2 to honor the dead.
  • In Mexico City, massive parades run along main streets, though the specific float procession originated from the 2015 James Bond film Spectre and was not previously part of traditional celebrations.
  • Authorities in Janitzio, Michoacan, closed the pantheon to tourists for the first time this year after the community council reported damage to tombs and the cemetery perimeter wall from crowds.
  • While UNESCO recognized these celebrations as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, the international spotlight on Mexico has created regional tensions regarding overtourism and preservation of local customs.
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The traditional "Día de Muertos" is one of Mexico's most important holidays and was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by Unesco in 2008. Music and bright colours are remembered for several days of the deceased.

·Zürich, Switzerland
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Among catrinas and tourists, the Mexican capital celebrated the tenth edition of a colorful parade inspired by James Bond

·Los Angeles, United States
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Thousands of people along Avenida Reforma for the traditional parade dedicated to the dead. Among music, costumes and faces painted by skeletons, the Mexican capital celebrates the Day of the Dead. L'articolo Dia de los Muertos, Mexico City is filled with colors and masks comes from The Truth.

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For centuries the Mexicans with altars and flowers have been reminding of their dead. The carnivalesque move to Mexico City, on the other hand, is a young invention - by James Bond.

·Düsseldorf, Germany
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Gabriela was one of the 1 600 thousand people who, bet along the corridor bounded for the parade, waited for hours to witness the show

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Giant skeletons, masks, flowers and music transform the streets of Mexico City into an immense feast for the Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead. On Saturday, October 31, the great parade crossed the Paseo de la Reforma to the Zócalo, the main square of the capital. According to the city authorities, 1.6 million people attended the parade, animated by 4,000 participants among musicians, dancers and players, with allegorical chariots and the char…

·Turin, Italy
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TV Azteca broke the news on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
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