Mexico's skeleton parade celebrates the deadPublished23 October 2017Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersImage caption, 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.Image source, AFPImage caption, 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.Image source, AFPImage caption, 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.Image source, AFPImage caption, While La Catrina is a female figure, there were also plenty of catrines, La Catrina's male equivalent, on parade.Image source, AFPImage caption, 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.Image source, AFPImage caption, Since then, Mexicans have taken to it with gusto, even getting out their wedding dresses to get the perfect Catrina look.Image source, AFPImage caption, Elegance is key to being a good Catrina.Image source, AFPImage caption, Beards are as trendy in the afterlife as they are among the living hipsters.More on this storyBond inspires Mexico City paradePublished29 October 2016