Day of the Dead parade in Mexico features painted La Catrina faces and costumes

The well-dressed Calavera Catrina features in Day of the Dead parades.

ByABC News
October 23, 2017, 2:07 PM
A woman dressed up as "Catrina," a Mexican character also known as "The Elegant Death," takes part in a Catrinas parade in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
A woman dressed up as "Catrina," a Mexican character also known as "The Elegant Death," takes part in a Catrinas parade in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
Carlos Jasso/Reuters

— -- Mexicans get ready to celebrate El Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, highlighting the character of La Calavera Catrina.

PHOTO: People participate in the the parade of "Catrinas," in Mexico City, Oct. 22,  2017.
People participate in the the parade of "Catrinas," in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. The Calavera Catrina, or "Dapper Skeleton," is the most representative image of the Day of the Dead, a indigenous festivity that honors ancestors and occurs from Nov 1, 2017 through Nov. 2, 2017.
PHOTO: A woman dressed as Mexico's iconic "Catrina" awaits the start of the Grand Procession of the Catrinas, part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
A woman dressed as Mexico's iconic "Catrina" awaits the start of the Grand Procession of the Catrinas, part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. The figure of a skeleton wearing an elegant broad-brimmed hat was first done as a satirical engraving by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 and his death in 1913.

The Catrinas parade is an annual event commemorating the Day of the Dead by locals and visitors.

PHOTO: A woman dressed up as "Catrina," a Mexican character also known as "The Elegant Death", takes part in a Catrinas parade in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
A woman dressed up as "Catrina," a Mexican character also known as "The Elegant Death", takes part in a Catrinas parade in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
PHOTO: People have their faces painted in the style of Mexico's iconic "Catrina," as they prepare to march in the Grand Procession of the Catrinas, part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
People have their faces painted in the style of Mexico's iconic "Catrina," as they prepare to march in the Grand Procession of the Catrinas, part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. The figure of a skeleton wearing an elegant broad-brimmed hat was first done as a satirical engraving by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 and his death in 1913.

La Calavera Catrina, or Dapper Skeleton, is the most representative image of the Day of the Dead, an indigenous festivity that celebrates ancestors and includes many humorous or pretty portrayals of skeletons.

PHOTO: People participate in the the parade of "Catrinas," in Mexico City, Oct. 22,  2017.
People participate in the the parade of "Catrinas," in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. The Calavera Catrina, or "Dapper Skeleton," is the most representative image of the Day of the Dead, a indigenous festivity that honors ancestors and occurs from Nov 1, 2017 through Nov. 2, 2017.
PHOTO: People dressed as a skeleton couple await the start of the Grand Procession of the "Catrinas," part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
People dressed as a skeleton couple await the start of the Grand Procession of the "Catrinas," part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. The figure of a skeleton wearing an elegant broad-brimmed hat was first done as a satirical engraving by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 and his death in 1913.

The figure of a skeleton wearing an elegant broad-brimmed hat was first done as a satirical engraving by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 and his death in 1913.

PHOTO: A person fancy dressed as "Catrina" takes part in the "Catrinas Parade" along Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
A person fancy dressed as "Catrina" takes part in the "Catrinas Parade" along Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
PHOTO: Montserrat Ramirez, dressed as a skeleton bride, poses for pictures during the Grand Procession of the "Catrinas," part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations, in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
Montserrat Ramirez, dressed as a skeleton bride, poses for pictures during the Grand Procession of the "Catrinas," part of upcoming Day of the Dead celebrations, in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. The figure of a skeleton wearing an elegant broad-brimmed hat was first done as a satirical engraving by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 and his death in 1913.

Posada was famous for his drawings of typical local folkloric scenes, his sociopolitical criticism and his illustrations of skeletons or skulls, including La Catrina.

PHOTO: People fancy dressed as "Catrina" take part in the "Catrinas Parade" along Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017.
People fancy dressed as "Catrina" take part in the "Catrinas Parade" along Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City, Oct. 22, 2017. Mexicans get ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead highlighting the character of La Catrina which was created by cartoonist Jose Guadalupe Posada, famous for his drawings of typical local, folkloric scenes, socio-political criticism and for his illustrations of "skeletons" or skulls, including La Catrina.