As I said at the end of yesterday's post, I will be in Mexico in time to celebrate Day of the Dead (fingers crossed that everything goes according to schedule). I asked Alejandro if he wants to go the parade this year, and he said "yes".
The Day of the Dead Parade is a recent addition to the observance of the holiday. In 2015 the opening scenes of the James Bond movie "Spectre" featured a Day of the Dead Parade in Mexico City... something which did not exist at that time. So many people asked, "When is the parade?" that the city government decided to cash in on the tourist interest. The following year, the first Day of the Dead Parade was held. Purists complain that the event is an abomination that has nothing to do with the true meaning of the Day of the Dead. But, hey, following that logic, we could complain that the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade has nothing to do with the true meaning of Thanksgiving and is just a gimmick to kick off the Christmas shopping season. The parade has grown and grown in popularity, not just with tourists but with the Mexican people themselves. Other events have been added, and now late October / early November is one of the best times of the year to visit Mexico City.
The city government or the tourism department or whoever is in charge of these things, has the maddening habit of not publicizing the dates of the Day of the Dead events until about a month ahead of time... not very good planning if you wish to attract tourism to the city. Visitors want to plan their vacation and make their reservations long before that. However, every year the parade has been held the Saturday before the Day of the Dead, and tourists have planned accordingly. This year, city government, in its infinite wisdom, has thrown a monkey wrench into the vacations of thousands of visitors. A couple weeks ago, they announced that this year's parade will be held on November 4th, the Saturday AFTER the Day of the Dead! No reason has been given for the change. I am sure that there will be a lot of irate tourists who have made reservations for the week before. I can imagine their anger when they find out that the parade will not be held during their stay. A very unwise move on the part of the city government.
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