Mexico City Unveils World’s Tallest Catrina for Day of the Dead
Mexico City sets Guinness World Record with 33.4-meter-tall Catrina, honoring Day of the Dead traditions and Mexican identity
POLICY WIRE — Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico City has claimed another Guinness World Record with the inauguration of its Day of the Dead altar, featuring a 33.4-meter-tall Catrina figure, the tallest papier-mâché sculpture in the world.
Hundreds gathered in the Zócalo to witness Mayor Clara Brugada inaugurate the mega-ofrenda, a giant altar featuring marigolds, axolotls, sugar skulls, and monumental figures, transforming the heart of the capital into a stage to remember those no longer with us.
The nearly 110-foot-tall Catrina dominates the square, looming above the Metropolitan Cathedral, and is one of the most recognizable symbols of Mexican identity and Day of the Dead.
The Mexico City Catrina was created by the Xibalbá art workshop and its director, Carlos Camilo Báez, and represents a critique of vanity, classism, and false appearances, reminding us that in the face of death, there are no differences based on titles, surnames, or fortune.
Mayor Brugada paid tribute to the late Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, pointing out that the ofrenda includes a tribute to the three-time presidential candidate who died on Wednesday.
The entire Day of the Dead ofrenda will only be on display through November 3, and the lighting installed on the government buildings in the square and along 20 de Noviembre avenue references the work of Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada, the creator of the famous Calavera Garbancera, which inspired La Catrina.
The giant Catrina marks the fifth Guinness World Record established by Mexico City this year, with other records including the world’s largest holographic mural, the largest continuous line of sandwiches, the largest human wave outside a stadium, and the world’s largest soccer lesson.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
