Day of the Dead in Tijuana: a free downtown parade on Nov. 1 and CECUT’s monumental altar from Oct. 29

Tijuana’s fourth Desfile Tradicional de Día de Muertos takes over downtown on Sunday, Nov. 1, and both the parade and the shows around it are free, organizers said at a Sept. 29 presentation reported by Diario Tijuana and CiudadTijuana. The day starts at 11 a.m. at the Mercado Benito Juárez with a food and art festival and a Catrines and Catrinas contest. The parade steps off at 1 p.m. and lasts about two hours.

The route

The roughly 3-kilometer route starts at Calle Quinta and Ocampo, runs along Quinta toward Avenida Negrete, continues on Calle Tercera toward Parque Teniente Guerrero, then comes back on Calle Cuarta to finish at the Mercado Benito Juárez (Av. Melchor Ocampo 1037), where the party continues. Expect school bands, students from the Normal Fronteriza, local businesses and decorated floats, led by guest Catrina Bridge González. Organizers counted more than 3,500 spectators, more than 1,000 participants and about 40 vehicles last year and hope to beat those numbers; Karim Chalita Rodríguez, president of Tijuana’s tourism and convention committee (Cotuco), was among the presenters.

CECUT’s Fiesta de las Ánimas

At the Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), the Monumental Altar de Muertos opens Thursday, Oct. 29. This year it honors Margarita Maza Parada, 200 years after her birth. It anchors the Fiesta de las Ánimas on the center’s explanada from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, with a Catrina runway, workshops and film, according to CECUT’s anniversary program as published by Certeza Diario and Tijuanotas. Times had not been posted when we checked.

Plan your day

• Clocks change that morning. Baja California’s seasonal time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1 (El Imparcial), so clocks go back an hour. Check your phone before you head downtown.
• Getting there: street closures and parking for the parade had not been announced. Downtown is easy to reach on foot from Avenida Revolución.
• More this season: the Tijuana Book Fair at Parque Morelos runs through Nov. 1, and our calendar has the Halloween-weekend shows.