Celebrating with the dead - 15th November 2023

The Day of the Dead celebrates the cycle of life and death, and is one of the most important festivals in Latin America. Falling at the beginning of November every year around the time of the Christian celebration of All Souls, it’s far from being a solemn affair.

People take part in colourful parades and visit the graves of family members who have passed.

Festivalgoer: "The closeness between our souls, the closeness to our dead, more than mourning them is to celebrate, so we’re happy."

Some argue that the Day of the Dead festival was developed in Mexico, not from Christianity but from ancient Aztec rituals. Mexican academics are divided as to whether its roots are truly pre-Hispanic or part of a 20th century attempt to reclaim an Aztec identity.

For festivalgoers, its roots are irrelevant - it just gets better with age.

Festivalgoer: "It is a tradition that we have had for a long time, and I am glad that we have been improving it little by little with different carnivals and parades, it is something that has always been like that."

In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the UNESCO - Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - as such, it draws tourists from around the world. The Mexico City parade even provided the backdrop to the James Bond film 'Spectre'.

Whilst the dead are celebrated with home altars and offerings of their favourite foods at their graves, the living offer sugar skulls to their friends and family as gifts. And for tourists and participants, the makeup is invariably that of a beautifully decorated skull. For tourist Sapeer Kadoch, the day's a heartwarming experience.

Sapeer Kadoch: "I think it's really beautiful the way that Mexicans celebrate death. I think it's so special and so unique, it's not something that you see anywhere else in the world so it really, it warms my heart."