Overview
- Mexico’s tourism ministry projects more than 1.6 million visitors for Nov. 1–2 events, about a 2% rise from 2024, highlighting the Mexico City parade on Paseo de la Reforma.
- Major U.S. gatherings roll out this weekend, including San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, Dallas’s Latino Cultural Center festival, New York’s Green-Wood Cemetery and Times Square events, and San Francisco’s long-running Mission District procession on Nov. 2.
- Communities build ofrendas with marigolds, photos, favorite foods, candles and the four elements of wind, earth, water and fire, with UNESCO recognizing the tradition as cultural heritage.
- Organizers emphasize that Día de los Muertos differs from Halloween, underscoring remembrance, healing and communal connection rather than fright or trick-or-treating.
- As public festivals expand, cultural leaders welcome wider participation yet caution against commercialization and aesthetic trends that strip meaning, a tension heightened since the popularity of the film “Coco.”