Day of the Dead: Mexicans celebrate holiday differently with coronavirus pandemic

Day of the Dead is a little different this year in Mexico, with Mexicans paying their respects to departed loved-ones a little earlier.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, cemeteries usually filled with colour and light on Nov. 1 and 2 will be a little somber with cemeteries shuttered for Day of the Dead festivities.

The festive tradition typically draws thousands of people to burial grounds and public squares across Mexico, many dressed as skeletons, to picnic at gravesides and decorate altars with sugar skulls and photos of dead friends and relatives.

But in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus, city authorities have reluctantly ordered cemeteries to stay closed for Day of the Dead this year, prompting Mexicans to file out early.

Plus, the popular and spooky legend of La Llorona came to life in Mexico City on Saturday night for a Day of the Dead tradition adapted for the coronavirus pandemic.

La Llorona (or "the Crying Woman") is a popular ghost story in Mexico and other parts of Latin America of a spectral figure dressed in white who cries out in search of her children.

The show "La Llorona, a Longing for Goodbye" held on Saturday was the 27th year in a row the play has been performed among the canals of Mexico City's iconic Xochimilco neighborhood.

Both spectators and actors said the show took on a new meaning this year, as it recounts the heartbreak of not being able to say goodbye, which has been the experience of many who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus.

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