Hotels near Mega Procesion de Catrinas

On Sunday 25 October 2026 from 18:00, tens of thousands of people in full Catrina make-up walk from the Angel de la Independencia down Paseo de la Reforma, Avenida Juarez and 5 de Mayo to the Zocalo. This is the 13th edition of the Mega Procesion de Catrinas, and unlike the city's official parade it is organised by a civil association rather than the government. La Catrina, the elegant skeleton in a feathered hat, comes from a 1910 etching by Jose Guadalupe Posada and was named by Diego Rivera decades later.

Watching from the pavement is free. Walking in it costs a symbolic 25 peso contribution and an online registration in one of 25 contingent categories, which is the version worth doing: the point of this event is that the participants outnumber the spectators. Make-up stands set up near the Angel in the afternoon, and full Catrina face paint takes 20 to 40 minutes. Wear shoes you can cover 4 km in, because there is no drop-out point once the procession fills Reforma.

Two details make the difference between watching and taking part. The make-up stalls near the Angel de la Independencia work fast but queue badly after 17:00, and the procession is genuinely long, covering roughly 4 km of Paseo de la Reforma, Avenida Juarez and 5 de Mayo on foot. If you are marching, carry water and a small bag you can hold rather than a rucksack, because the contingents move slowly and stop often for photographs along the way.

Pro Tip: Register weeks ahead and arrive at the Angel by 16:30, not 18:00. The make-up queues are long by 17:00, and the light between 18:00 and 18:45 in late October is the only window where you get the procession lit and the sky still blue.