Skulls, masks and dancers as Mexico fetes Day of the Dead

Dancers in indigenous costumes pranced down a broad avenue followed by a float bearing the 20-foot-tall likeness of the goddess Mictecacihuatl, announced as “the queen of the underworld and the guardian of our bones,” crowned by a red feather headdress and cradling a skull in her right hand.

Two dozen people clad head-to-toe in mud-colored makeup with animal masks walked stiffly behind, representing the nine levels of Mictlan, or the underworld.

Crowds lined Mexico City’s stately Paseo de la Reforma as the capital capped Day of the Dead celebrations Saturday with a parade along . . .