Mexico honours quake rescuers in parade
The annual Day of Dead procession featured a group in fluorescent aid-worker vests
Dancing devils, towering skeletons and altars festooned with marigolds made their way down Mexico City’s main thoroughfare on Saturday to commemorate the Day of the Dead in a country still mourning nearly 500 people killed in earthquakes last month.
More than 700 performers prepared for months for the colourful afternoon procession along more than seven kilometres of the Paseo de la Reforma.
A new message
The two destructive earthquakes in September prompted some late changes to the programme.
A raised fist constructed out of hard hats and pickaxes led the way in the parade, greeted by cheers and applause from thousands of onlookers.
Just behind, a group in fluorescent aid-worker vests marched with fists in the air — a tribute to the rescuers who made the gesture to demand silence as they listened for survivors in the rubble from the second quake, on September 19, which toppled dozens of buildings and killed nearly 230 people in the capital.
But the strongest earthquakes in more than three decades did not diminish a centuries-old Mexican celebration.
“The parade could be a distraction, a way of escaping,” said Ramon Marquez, 51, wearing an orange T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase #fuerzamorelos (Be strong Morelos), referring to one of the areas affected in the quake.
Sponsored by Mexico’s tourism and culture ministries, the parade was triple the size of last year’s maiden effort.
“We’re not only here to celebrate and dance, but also when there’s a disastrous situation we come together to help,” Violeta Canella Juarez, 31, said.
Local media reported at least 300,000 people at this year’s parade.