Mexico City's Grand Day of the Dead Parade Rolls Today Along a 10-Kilometer Route to the Zocalo
MEXICO CITY — Mexico City's annual Grand Day of the Dead Parade (Gran Desfile de Dia de Muertos) steps off on the afternoon of October 31. According to the program published by the Mexico City Secretariat of Culture, the parade starts at 2 p.m. at the Diana the Huntress fountain and proceeds along Paseo de la Reforma, Avenida Juarez, Eje Central, and 5 de Mayo to the Zocalo, the capital's main square — a route of about 10 kilometers lasting roughly four hours.
This year's parade includes tributes to legendary Mexican singers Juan Gabriel and Jose Alfredo Jimenez, with floats, giant skeleton puppets, and performers dressed as La Catrina moving along the route. A giant ofrenda (altar) on the Zocalo is open from October 29 to November 2, where residents leave flowers and candles for the dead.
Mexico City's parade began in 2016, inspired by the opening sequence of the James Bond film Spectre, and has since become a fixture of the season; more than 1.45 million spectators lined the route in 2025. The Day of the Dead, November 1–2, is Mexico's principal festival of remembrance and was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2008.
Mexico City is home to a Chinatown (Barrio Chino) near the parade route, and the city's Chinese community follows the downtown festivities closely. City authorities are closing streets along the route and advising spectators to use public transport.
Source: GSM News (USA)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：墨西哥城亡灵节游行中的卡特里娜装扮者（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。 / A Catrina costume at Mexico City's Day of the Dead parade (file photo). Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
