Downtown for the Festivities

On Saturday morning Alejandro and I went downtown.  Although the Day of the Dead isn't until Thursday, November 2nd, this was going to be a very festive day in the heart of the city.

We arrived at the Alameda Park and found that more large "Catrina" figures had been erected.  These were sponsored by the National Lottery.  You can see that the Catrinas' dresses are decorated with lottery motifs.

We continued down to Madero Street.  The atrium of the Church of San Francisco had a display for the Day of the Dead.

This "ofrenda" was interesting because it was made from plastic bottles.

Of course we had to pose with the skulls on the wall.

We reached the Zócalo, the main plaza, which was decorated to the hilt, beneath a canopy of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Day of the Dead banners.  

The decorations included a tribute to the rescuer workers who saved many from the rubble of the September 19th earthquake.

We headed to a rooftop café a couple blocks away from the plaza for a light lunch.

After lunch we went back to the Alameda Park because there was something that we wanted to do.

There was a tent set up where make-up artists were painting people's faces.  For between 100 and 200 pesos ($5 - $10 US) you could become a "Catrina" or "Catrín".  The artists were doing a thriving business with both locals and tourists lining up to be transformed.

So now that we are appropriately made up, it is time for us to find a spot from which to watch the Day of the Dead Parade.