Tens of thousands attend ‘Day of the Dead’ event in Mexico

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Mexico City to celebrate annual event of the Day of the Dead-- Dia de los Muertos.

The event takes place every year between October 31 and November 02.

Over 300,000 Mexican people dressed up and paraded decorated procession floats for the festivities, the local media reported.

Last year over 200,000 people attended the event.

The Day of the Dead---Dia de los Muertos is a celebration of the lives of friends and family who have died.

This year, those honoured included the people who lost their lives in the devastating earthquakes that hit Mexico in September.

Two quakes two weeks apart left almost 500 people dead, including 228 in Mexico City alone.

One of the floats during the festival procession featured a raised fist made out of helmets, pick axes and rubble – a tribute to the people who rushed to search for survivors in the aftermath of the quakes.

As part of the festivities, Mexicans dressed up as skeletons and the traditional Mexican La Catrina figure. Floats and more than 700 performers paraded along a four-mile route through the capital.

The event is believed to originate in Aztec festivals that marked the time when, people thought, the dead returned temporarily to Earth.

Similar festivals have been celebrated for up to 3,000 years.