The Fake Parade

I wrote a while ago that I was once again contributing reviews and comments on the  TripAdvisor website.  Because I will be going to Mexico again this year for the Day of the Dead, I went to the Mexico City Forum to ask about the date of this year's parade.  There are a number of people on the Forum who assume an air of cultural superiority and dismissively refer to the the event as a "fake parade".

It is true that the parade is a recent invention.  The 2015 James Bond movie "Spectre" begins with a sequence portraying a Day of the Dead Parade in Mexico City... a parade which, in fact, had never existed.  After the film's release so many people asked, "When is the parade going to be held?", that the city decided in 2016 to hold its first Day of the Dead Parade.  I saw the second annual parade in 2017, and I intend to see it again this year on Saturday, October 27, the weekend before the Day of the Dead.  Last year we waited more than an hour along the street waiting for the parade to arrive, but the parade was great fun and worth the wait.

The critics say that the parade is not a part of the Day of the Dead tradition and is a mockery of its religious roots.  I responded by saying that this is NOT a Halloween parade... there is nary a jack-o-lantern nor witch on broomstick to be seen.  The parade is all about the Day of the Dead traditions going back to pre-Hispanic times.  And even though Day of the Dead is a religious observance, it also has its more festive side in which the inevitability of death is viewed with a sense of humor. Furthermore, traditions have to start somewhere.  I would not be surprised if years ago there were critics who said that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade had nothing to do with Thanksgiving or its traditions.  One poster on the Forum agreed with me and said that perhaps this parade will continue on through the years long after the James Bond film has been forgotten.

Another person on the Forum said that if I want to experience the Day of the Dead I should go to a cemetery.  Indeed there are many tourists, in fact there are tour groups, that go to cemeteries to view the all-night, candlelight vigils which families hold by their loved ones' graves.  I am not going to criticize those tourists, because I admit that it would be an incredible sight to see.  But, as an outsider, I also feel that it is in poor taste to intrude upon their observances.  

So, when I return to Mexico in October, I shall be content to see the many "ofrendas" and decorations throughout the city, photograph the locals who are dressed as "catrinas" and "catrines" (elegantly dressed skeletons), have my own face painted... and, yes, view the "fake parade"!