Mexico is getting ready for the Day of the Dead. And we can all feel it. In preparation to welcome the souls from our beloved departed, we start designing our altars, tending cempasúchil flowers and buying sacred copal scents at our closest local market. If you’re all about getting into the Spooky Season mood in the Mexican way, you can’t miss what’s on in Mexico City this October 2025.
From the spectacular Catrina parade to the traditional Chocolate and Coffee Fest, the capital’s main streets and galleries will be full of the season’s colors and joys. Here’s our monthly digest.
A journey to Mictlán
“Mictlán means eternal resting place of the dead,” Ayaotekatl, a representative of the Tepanec tribe in Azcapotzalco, once told UNAM’s Gaceta magazine. Both folk and pop culture in Mexico have adopted this mythical place as part of their Day of the Dead celebrations.
A great example of this is Fantasy Lab’s “Un viaje al Mictlán” (A Trip to Mictlán) immersive exhibit, where visitors will be able to explore the nine levels of the Mexica underworld. The idea is to simulate the journey that the Mexica believed the soul undertakes to arrive at its eternal resting place.
Dates: Runs through Nov. 17
Location: Av. Patriotismo 229, San Pedro de los Pinos, Benito Juárez
Cost: Tickets start at 390 pesos
Ruta del Cempasúchil
The scent of Day of the Dead’s traditional pan de muerto is starting to fill the air in Mexico City, and we love it!
You can have a proper taste of this traditional sweet bread in Explora Xochimilco’s trajinera tour, which will feature Catrinas, cempasúchil flowers and pre-Columbian live music in the Xochimilco borough’s canals. Enjoy local altar design, sample traditional beverages and listen to ancient legends that still haunt the Xochimilca collective unconscious.
Dates: Oct. 3–Nov. 9
Location: Av. Patriotismo 229, San Pedro de los Pinos, Benito Juárez
Cost: From 750 pesos per hour
Coffee and Chocolate Fest: Day of the Dead edition
October in Mexico just isn’t October without hot chocolate and cempasúchil flowers, and the Coffee and Chocolate Fest knows it. The host of this festival, the National Museum of Popular Cultures, has made an open (and very wholesome) invitation to the public on its social media: “Let’s welcome our beloved departed with lots of love, coffee and chocolate,” following the centuries-old tradition of welcoming the souls of loved ones home on Day of the Dead.
With that in mind, several workshops, cacao ceremonies and storytelling sessions will be held at the museum, suitable for all family members.
Dates: Oct. 10, 11 and 12
Location: Museo Nacional de las Culturas Populares. Av. Hidalgo 289, Del Carmen, Coyoacán
Cost: Free
International Book Fair at the Zócalo
It’s time to bring those extra pesos: the Zócalo International Book Fair (FIL Zócalo) is coming to Mexico City in October! Staged out in the open on Mexico City’s main square, the Zócalo, you’ll get access to a ton of free activities, workshops and talks, plus a chance to snatch the best deals on physical books you’ll get this year. Major international publishing houses like Random House and Taschen have had auction prices in past editions, which can be pricey even online.
Last year, over 300 publishers participated in FIL Zócalo, so there will be plenty to choose from! Try arriving before noon, because it can get really crowded.
Dates: Oct. 11–19
Location: Plaza de la Constitución
Cost: Activity and workshop fees may vary, but they’re mostly free
Alebrije parade
For almost two decades, the Museum of Popular Arts (MAP) has organized an annual alebrije contest. Winners get to prance with their pieces throughout the capital’s main avenues in the historic center, where thousands of spectators cheer on their mystical designs.
Starting at 12:00 p.m., the parade begins at the Zócalo, continues along 5 de Mayo, Juárez and Paseo de la Reforma avenues before concluding at the Independence Angel monument roundabout. Traditionally, once the parade is over, artists are expected to exhibit the alebrijes along Paseo de la Reforma Avenue. This year, the exhibition runs until Nov. 9.
Date: Oct.18
Location: From the Zócalo to the Ángel de la Independencia
Cost: Free
Medieval Fairies and Goblins Festival
Yes, I know. In an earlier post for MND, I wrote about how there were no Middle Ages in Mexico. However! We Mexicans do still love some medieval fantasy!
Elves, goblins, dragons and tons of cosplay will fill the Ex-Convento del Desierto de los Leones for the eighth edition of the Medieval Festival. Set in a 17th-century monastery, this event is your annual chance to sample homemade root beer, magical sweets and walk around in enchanted forests.
Date: Oct. 19
Location: Carretera México-Toluca 05050, Cuajimalpa de Morelos
Cost: Entrance fees start at 200 pesos for adults. Seniors and people with disabilities get a 50-peso discount.
Mega-Catrina Parade
Scheduled this year for Oct. 26, the always entertaining Mega-Catrina Parade features hundreds of catrinas and catrines representing different Mexican art forms — including dance and performance art. The 2025 parade will begin at the Independence Angel monument and end at the Zócalo.
It’s worth noting that the Mega-Catrina Festival and the Day of the Dead parade are two separate events. The date of the latter event has not yet been confirmed.
Date: Oct. 26
Location: From Avenida Paseo de la Reforma to the Zócalo
Cost: Free
A literary afternoon with reading aloud
There are a few spaces in Mexico City where you can hear readings of contemporary Mexican literature. However, the magazine Pretextos literarios por escrito, which bimonthly publishes the country’s new narrative and poetic voices, also arranges public talks with the launch of each new issue, in some of the capital’s best cultural venues.
In October, the magazine’s board will celebrate its 58th issue with a talk at the iconic Casa Juan Rulfo, in the colonial neighborhood of Mixcoac, where participants can hear the authors themselves narrate their pieces aloud. October’s guests are to be announced. Follow the magazine’s Facebook page for announcements.
Date: Oct. 30, at 6 p.m.
Location: Casa de Cultura Juan Rulfo. Campana 59, Insurgentes Mixcoac, Benito Juárez
Cost: Free of charge
Watch the Amalia Hernández Ballet live at Castillo de Chapultepec
Among the things to do in Mexico City in October is an unmissable performance led by the Amalia Hernández Folkloric Ballet. Presented at the Islet of Chapultepec Lake, the “Death in Mexico is More Alive Than Ever” show brings the very best of Mexican traditional dance to the stage, with a Day of the Dead theme.
Date: Oct. 30–Nov. 2
Location: Casa de Cultura Juan Rulfo, Campana 59, Insurgentes Mixcoac, Benito Juárez.
Cost: 1,320 pesos and up
UNAM Mega-Ofrenda
Every year, the National University of Mexico’s Mega-Ofrenda installation is themed to a different icon of Mexican art or history. Art icons like Remedios Varo and José Clemente Orozco have been among the many inspirations for this annual altar, designed and built by UNAM’s students.
For the 2025 edition, Mexico City’s science museum, Universum, will be hosting the exhibit, intended to honor “the best of Mexican cinema and the people who have made it possible.”
Dates: Oct. 31–Nov. 2
Location: Universum Museum esplanade
Cost: Free
Andrea Fischer contributes to the features desk at Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to be an advocate for anything that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.
