Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

PICTURES: Mexico City holds its first Day of the Dead parade – which was inspired by latest James Bond movie

Post Thumbnail

Mexico City has hosted its first ever parade for the annual Day of the Dead festival, complete with floats, giant skeleton marionettes – and all inspired by the latest James Bond movie.

Fans of Britain’s best-loved fictional secret service agent may recall a memorable scene at the opening of 2015′s Spectre, where Bond finds himself chasing a rogue villain amidst the chaos of a Day of the Dead parade in the Mexican capital.

1477850028-772df1a2fdb403c5b3b66e48731d36b1

The Bond film scene was visually stunning, but sadly lacking in truth since Mexico City had never before hosted such an event.

Rather than quibble over authenticity, Mexicans decided the Bond creators might be on to something and swiftly made arrangements to turn the dream into reality – and the results are quite stunning.

Tens of thousands gathered to witness the magic of a phalanx of Aztec warriors on roller skates and over 1,000 actors, dancers and costumed acrobats performing tricks.

This is a far-cry from traditional Day of the Dead celebrations, which generally consist of sombre family gatherings at the graves of loved ones departed.

Lourdes Berho, chief executive of the government’s Mexico Tourism Board said: “When this movie hit the big screen and was seen by millions and millions of people in 67 countries, that started to create expectations that we would have something.

People watch the city's first Day of the Dead parade on Reforma Avenue in Mexico City,

“We knew that this was going to generate a desire on the part of people here, among Mexicans and among tourists, to come and participate in a celebration, a big parade.”

The increasing popularity of “Zombie Walks”, where swarms imitate the un-dead in organised marches, have come to represent a new era of celebrations for the tradition, along with a general merging with Halloween-esque costumes including witches and ghosts.

Johanna Angel, an arts and communication professor at Mexico’s IberoAmerican University, said the influences flow both north and south.

“I think there has been a change, influenced by Hollywood,” Angel said. “The foreign imports are what most influence the ways we celebrate the Day of the Dead here.”

1477849847-a17654cfc956b5129377de94c2492d7f1477849937-1ca07b69ed9fd0038f2e782aaf7fef09

It might not be the most traditional Day of the Dead Mexico City has seen, but it’s almost certainly the most electric.”