Ever since the James Bond movie (the one that was shot in Mexico), the city decided to keep this extravagant looking parade, celebrated this year on October 27th at 16:00. Not the tradicional Day of the Dead celebration –very far from it actually–, but pretty cool nonetheless!
This year the parade was dedicated to the souls of the immigrants. From the pre-Hispanic groups who came to this land and founded Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City’s downtown), to the ones who come and go and keep building this great nation. And to the ones who’ve lost their lives in doing so.
These are some of our favorite moments… Hope we captured the spirit and pure joy of our very colorful country!
Note: Did you know that the famous Catrina (pic above), painted by the cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada, was actually a critic to those who denied their indigenous roots?
“Death is democratic. Blond, brunette, rich or poor, all end up as skulls” –José Guadalupe Posadas.
This last photo was our favorite! They were the last group in the parade, cleaning all the mess to the rhythm of the music… Can’t imagine a better ending.
Now, if you want to see what a traditional Day of the Dead celebration looks like + a small explanation to the history and meaning behind it, read this post.
Useful information
If you ever want to see this parade, there are a couple of thing you must know:
- The date is set the Saturday before November 1st.
- It starts at 16:00 and goes along Reforma avenue, from the ‘Estela de Luz’ monument to the Zócalo (Historic Center).
- You can stand anywhere you want along Reforma avenue, but be there by 13:00-13:30. We arrived at 14:30 and it was already packed. The ‘Ángel de la Independencia’ monument is a great spot.
- There are many stations with makeup artists where you turn yourself into a Catrina. We saw one in the Starbucks that’s right next to the ‘Ángel de la Independencia’ monument, on Florencia street.
