Mexico's skeleton parade celebrates the dead

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A woman dressed up as Catrina takes part in a Catrinas parade in Mexico City on 22 October 2017Image source, Reuters
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Hundreds of people dressed up as skeletons to take part in a parade celebrating the dead. They were surrounded by marigolds, a flower which is thought to guide the spirit of the dead with its vivid colours and scent.

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Make-up artists were on hand all day to make participants look like La Catrina, the name given to an elegant skeletal figure popular in Mexican culture.

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The event, held in the run-up to the Day of the Dead celebrations on 1 and 2 November, is aimed at all ages and whole families dressed up to take part in the parade.

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While La Catrina is a female figure, there were also plenty of catrines, La Catrina's male equivalent, on parade.

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Couples proved romance is not dead in the afterlife. Day of the Dead parades were not held on a big scale in the capital until they were popularised by the James Bond film Spectre last year.

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Since then, Mexicans have taken to it with gusto, even getting out their wedding dresses to get the perfect Catrina look.

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Elegance is key to being a good Catrina.

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Beards are as trendy in the afterlife as they are among the living hipsters.