By Ahmed Abdelsalam
Mexico's annual Day of the Dead festivities fill streets with orange marigolds, candles, and painted skeleton faces as families honor deceased loved ones. The celebrations, rooted in pre-Hispanic agricultural beliefs and later blended with Catholic traditions, peak on November 1 and 2 when souls are believed to return.
Traditions mark the holiday
Massive parades run along Mexico City's main avenue, while homes and cemeteries feature altars adorned with photos, food, mezcal, and pan de muerto bread. Marigolds, known as cempasuchil, are spread to guide spirits back to earth.
Overtourism strains local sites
Growing international attention has brought tourist influxes to regions like Oaxaca and Michoacan. In Janitzio, a UNESCO-recognized island in Michoacan, authorities closed the cemetery to tourists for the first time after structural damage from overcrowding. Only local families may now enter.
Mexico City's popular catrina parade, originally created for the 2015 James Bond film "Spectre," has also drawn skepticism from residents who note it was not part of traditional observances.
