A Towering "Catrina"

Every year, the city decorates the Zócalo, the main plaza, with what they call a "Mega-Ofrenda".  This year the dominant feature of the "ofrenda" is what was billed as the tallest "catrina" in the world.

Last Sunday, the day before Day of the Dead, Alejandro and I went downtown to see the giant "catrina".  As we walked down pedestrianized Madero Street toward the Zócalo, we could see the figure from blocks away.

The "catrina" is about 110 feet tall, roughly the height of an 11 story building.  It surpasses the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro by about six feet.

Surrounding the "catrina" are large areas of the plaza covered with thousands of marigold plants.  Among the flowers there are figures of "axolotls".  In the last year, the salamander-like animal that inhabits the last remaining canals of the city, has been adopted as the city's symbol.

The twin buildings of the city hall are decorated with lights.  We did not stay until dark.  The Zocalo was jammed with people, and all we wanted to do was to take some photos and get out of that crowd.

The banners on the city hall are in honor of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, who recently passed away.

Cardénas was the son of Lázaro Cárdenas, President of Mexico between 1934 and 1940.  The son broke away from the ruling political party of PRI, and founded an opposition party, PRD.  He ran for President three times, and quite possibly might have won.  However, in those days, PRI always made sure that they remained in power.