Pandemic mutes Mexico’s preparations for Day of the Dead celebrations

A woman waters her father’s grave at the Valle de Chalco municipal cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City (Fernando Llano/AP)

Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration this weekend will not be the same in a year so marked by death, in a country where more than 90,000 people have died of Covid-19.

Many of those had to be cremated rather than buried, and even for those with gravesides to visit, the pandemic has forced authorities in most parts of Mexico to close cemeteries to prevent the traditional November 1-2 observances when entire families clean and decorate tombs, cover them with orange marigolds, light candles and chat with their deceased relatives, perhaps over a glass of their favourite beverage.