Mexico City unveils Guinness-certified 33-metre Catrina as Day of the Dead begins

A record Catrina rises over the Zócalo

Mexico City has put on display a Catrina that Guinness World Records has certified as the largest in the world. La Repubblica gives its height as 33.411 metres, Der Spiegel says it is more than 33 metres tall, and La Razón puts it at 33.4 metres. The previous record holder, a figure in Puerto Vallarta, measured 28.15 metres according to La Razón. The sculpture is built from steel, fibreglass and cardboard, weighs more than 100 tonnes according to La Repubblica, and has a dress running over 27 metres. La Razón reports that about 140 people from the Taller Xibalbá workshop, including sculptors, painters and blacksmiths, built it using cranes and a metal frame.

The figure was unveiled on Thursday, 29 October, and will stay on view until 2 November with free admission, according to La Razón. Guinness adjudicator Alfredo Arista handed the certificate to Mayor Clara Brugada in the Zócalo, and the ceremony opened the capital's official Day of the Dead programme, followed by the lighting of the square. Estimates of the flowers around the statue differ. La Repubblica reports 100,000 marigolds, while Der Spiegel and La Razón both give about 70,000 orange cempasúchil, which La Razón says come from Xochimilco.

Puerto Vallarta Catrina (previous record)28.15

Mexico City Catrina (Guinness record)33.411

Puerto Vallarta Catrina (previous record)

28.15 m

Mexico City Catrina (Guinness record)

33.411 m

Data from the article text

Festivals spread beyond the capital

In Atlixco, in Mexico's Puebla state, the sixth edition of the Valle de Catrinas festival fills streets, squares and flower fields with giant sculptures of pre-Hispanic deities. The figures, some reaching about 10 metres, depict Tonatiuh, Itzpapálotl, Tezcatlipoca and Tzinacantecuhtli. The festival comprises 27 monumental sculptures, 19 installed across Atlixco and eight placed elsewhere in Mexico and abroad. Culture department head Jovanny Huerta said these include works at Felipe Ángeles International Airport in the State of Mexico and in Puebla city at the Museo Barroco and Casa Aguayo. Architect Jared Barojas, who made the Itzpapálotl figure, says the work helps keep Mexican traditions alive.

Tourism pressure and closures

The celebrations have drawn growing international attention, and states such as Oaxaca and Michoacán have seen an influx of visitors that has caused tensions around overtourism. In Janitzio, a small island on a lake in Michoacán, authorities closed the pantheon to tourists for the first time this year. The island's community council reported that damaged tombs, crosses and part of the cemetery's perimeter wall had collapsed under the crowds, and only local families and friends of those buried there are now admitted. Janitzio's celebrations were recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

Mexico City's parade takes place on Saturday, 31 October, with floats decorated with catrinas. Many locals are sceptical of it. The Independent reports that the procession was created for the 2015 James Bond film Spectre and later added to the city's celebrations, though it was not part of the older tradition. Der Spiegel says it was inspired by a scene from the film, taken up as a tourist attraction a year later, and held annually since 2016, when 1.5 million spectators attended last year.

Roots of the celebration

The festivities begin in October and peak on 1 and 2 November, when the souls of the dead are believed to return to reunite with their families. The tradition is rooted in pre-Hispanic beliefs tied to agriculture, and Catholic elements were added after the Spanish conquest in 1521. Families build altars with photos, marigolds, pan de muerto, treats and mezcal, and many gather at cemeteries on the night of 1 November. La Razón links the Catrina's origin to an early twentieth-century illustration by José Guadalupe Posada, La Calavera Garbancera, which gave rise to the figure that has become one of the holiday's best-known symbols.