Mexicos

I STOOD on a dark street as hundreds of ghostly figures dressed all in white walked quietly past me, each with a single flame illuminating their skull-painted face.

For a moment things felt spooky, even sombre — but then came the crackle of a sound system, the pop of a tequila bottle and deafening laughter.

You may be familiar with the Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead from that opening James Bond scene in Spectre, from the kid’s film Coco or from the ‘sugar skull’ makeup craze that became a Halloween trend.

Mexico City draws thousands of tourists annually with its impressive skeleton-themed parades around November 2, but the underrated city of Mérida also comes alive for the celebrations as well.

Set in the Yucatán peninsula — a patch of land more known for hotspots like Cancún and Tulum — Maya heritage is strong in Mérida, and it shows.

Day of the Dead is known here as Hanal Pixan (pronounced han-al pish-an), meaning ‘food for the souls’ in Mayan, and sees families and friends gather to celebrate departed loved ones, honouring them with a home-made altar often covered in pictures and their favourite foods.

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I visited Mérida as its days-long fiesta kicked off with the ‘parade of the souls’.

The candlelit procession from the cemetery into town made for an eerie sight, but this soon changed when they scattered and cleared the way for a huge street party along Calle 64.

This long avenue was decorated with giant skeleton structures and millions of orange marigold flowers while the pavements were lined with shrines set up by different families, each blasting reggaeton or ranchera music from speakers.

It’s a great place to tuck into some authentic Mexican street food, because as well as leaving the deceased’s favourite meal as an offering, the families make it in bulk to sell to passersby.

Try Yucatán’s specialty, cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork), some pan de muerto (a sweet bread made for the event) or a marquesita (if you’ve ever wondered whether Nutella and cheese taste good together).

Even beyond the festivities this city is a foodie’s dream.

You can keep things cheap by eating tacos al pastor on virtually every street corner for as little as MX$10 (40p) each, or lunching at the sensational Taquería De La Unión.

The Museum of Yucatecan Gastronomy offers a fancier atmosphere, serving up traditional dishes in a gorgeous courtyard with a jungle-like tree canopy.

And no trip to Mexico is complete without a plate of chilaquiles for breakfast or brunch; Mérida’s best can be found at Marmalade 47.

It’s worth having pesos to hand everywhere in Mérida. Most bars and restaurants will take card, but you’ll need cash for food stands.

On the day of the main parade, people line the streets early to get a good spot.

I was glad we did the same, or we would have only caught sight of the skeleton stilt walkers and missed the ever-changing flow of mariachi bands, traditional dancers and even pets in costume.

The Catrinas — people dressed as elegant, sombrero-wearing skeletal women — were the most stunning aspect of the evening, each donning their own unique outfits and elaborate face paint.

Unlike so many Halloween extravaganzas happening elsewhere in the world, this display was free of gore and jump-scares, making it extremely kid-friendly.

It wasn’t all about the parades, though.

Smaller-scale events were scattered across the city for almost a week surrounding Day of the Dead, from concerts in squares to shamans performing ancient Maya rituals on street corners.

Plus, the end of the fiesta didn’t mean the end of the fun; we tracked down a speakeasy called Malahat tucked away behind one of the plazas, where what looked like a fridge door led to a haven of mezcal-based cocktails. 

Mérida is a picturesque and walkable city that’s easy to explore.

Its grand colonial architecture is splashed with colour as crumbling palatial buildings at every turn are painted pink, yellow or blue, and if you get tired of walking, you have the option of winding through its kaleidoscopic streets in a horse and carriage.

It’s a great base from which to explore the marvels of the Yucatán peninsula, too. 

The region is covered in hundreds of cenotes (natural sinkholes) that make for magical swimming spots, and if you still need your beach fix, the white sands of Puerto Progreso are just 40 minutes away.

Also close by is Chichén Itzá, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and the site of some of the planet’s most breathtaking Maya ruins.

Its fame too often eclipses Mérida in this part of the world, and the busloads of tourists you’ll meet there are usually heading back to the bustle and beach clubs of Cancún.

But if you linger in Mérida, you’ll find a city with its own pulse — and it beats strongest around during this famous, beautiful event.

Faecal bacteria are contaminating water in wells and sinkholes in Mexico’s Yucatan state, which are a vital source of drinking water, according to a report by Greenpeace, a global environmental organisation.

The report, published on Tuesday, said nearby pig farms and municipal wastewater were likely sources of the pollution in the southeastern coastal state.

“A range of chemical and microbiological indicators reveal a complex mosaic of severe, localised organic pollution,” it said.

Greenpeace called for an immediate moratorium on new industrial livestock operations and farm expansions in the peninsular state, which was once home to the ancient Maya civilisation.

With no above-ground rivers, groundwater is the Yucatan’s only freshwater source, and the area’s porous limestone bedrock lets pollutants quickly seep into the aquifer.

Laboratory results

The global environmental watchdog group commissioned an independent laboratory to test water at 17 sites near the state capital, Merida, in August.

The sites included household and farm wells, community water points and cenotes, the natural sinkholes that dot the Yucatan Peninsula, which is one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations.

According to the report, every sample showed some degree of contamination likely linked to faecal waste, and several sites appeared heavily polluted. Total coliform bacteria reached the test’s upper limit in 16 of 17 samples, and faecal coliforms did so in 13.

However, the tests cannot show whether the waste came from people or animals, and leaking septic tanks and municipal sewage may also contribute to contamination.

Greenpeace said, however, that separate testing using Pig2Bac, a pig-specific DNA marker method, detected pig faecal matter in samples analysed at laboratories at Johns Hopkins University in the US and Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM).

Greenpeace said the results raise “critical accountability questions” about nearby pig farms.

Maya communities joined Greenpeace in demanding action from environmental authorities over the contamination.

Industrial pig farms

A UN report published in July found that there are more than 500 industrial pig farms across Yucatan state with more than 50,000 animals, many located near the lands and territories of Indigenous Peoples.

Marcos Orellana, a former UN special rapporteur who authored the report, said waste and chemicals from industrial farms “find their way very quickly” into the water communities use for bathing, cooking and drinking. He said most farms lack required permits and that regional government initiatives “remain insufficient”.

“The contamination of the waters that have sustained Mayan culture for millennia is predominantly coming from the industrial operations of the growth of animals,” Orellana said.

But Antonio Zumarraga, vice president of the Yucatan Citizen Scientific Water Observatory, defended the local pork industry, saying the sector has invested in water treatment and supports conservation programmes. He blamed local authorities for their inaction.

“It’s an issue that, as long as it doesn’t carry political weight for the government, they won’t do anything about it,” Zumarraga said.

The Yucatan state government was not available for comment, while Mexico’s national water commission, CONAGUA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Merida’s Association of Pig Farmers also did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Some of 16 survivors treated for suspected shark bites, US coastguard says.

The search continues for 11 people still missing after a boat capsized off Mexico’s Baja California coast on Friday, as multiple survivors have been treated for suspected shark bites, according to the US coastguard.

“Several of the individuals rescued were suffering from severe injuries consistent with shark bites, and the Coast Guard provided life-saving first aid while en route [to] San Diego,” the coastguard said in a statement on Saturday.

Sixteen Mexican nationals were rescued on Friday. Survivors told officials there were 27 people on board.

The coastguard and US Navy used multiple aircraft and boats, along with assistance from the Mexican Navy, to search the area for the remaining passengers. An additional helicopter will be deployed later on Saturday, according to the coastguard.

A Mayday call was transmitted from someone on the boat at about 1am on Friday, coastguard Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini said on the day.

A rescue helicopter reached the site about two hours later. It took about 90 minutes for the crew, which included a rescue swimmer, to pull the 16 people from the water, he added.

The boat went down about 225km (140 miles) west of Ensenada, Mexico, an area popular with fishing and leisure boats, but that is also frequented by smugglers.

Although the incident did not happen in US waters, coastguard official Charlie Valor said on Saturday they “were able to help, and that’s why we launched our assets”.

Fatal attempts to transport refugees and migrants from Mexico to the US have occurred in the past.

In May 2025, at least three people died when a boat flipped off the coast about 56km (35 miles) north of the US-Mexico border.

In 2023, eight people were killed in one of the deadliest maritime smuggling accidents off the US coast, when two boats approached a San Diego beach in heavy fog, and one capsized in the surf.

At least 11 people believed to still be missing, with rescue operations underway.

The US coastguard has said it rescued 16 people from the Pacific Ocean after a boat sank off Mexico’s Baja coast.

The coastguard said on Friday it responded to a Mayday call reporting that a boat was sinking. The search is ongoing for 11 people believed to be still missing.

The boat went down about 225km (140 miles) west of Ensenada, Mexico.

A rescue helicopter reached the site about two hours after someone on the boat transmitted the Mayday call at about 1am (08:00 GMT) on Friday, said coastguard Lieutenant Santiago Tamburini.

It took about 90 minutes for the coastguard crew, which included a rescue swimmer, to pull the 16 people from the water, Tamburini said.

The people rescued were Mexican nationals, according to the Mexican consulate.

One survivor was being treated for a suspected shark bite and two were in critical condition, authorities said.

The rescued were flown by helicopter to San Diego, California, and transported to hospitals. The Mexican consulate in San Diego said it offered consular assistance.

The coastguard and US Navy are continuing to search the area with two helicopters, a fixed-wing plane, a cutter and a navy combat ship.

The boat sank in an area frequented by smugglers transporting migrants to the US. It is also popular with fishing and leisure boats.

Details about the boat’s origin, destination and what it was doing are not clear. No vessel, only debris, was found, and it was unclear what type of boat was involved, the coastguard said.

“Boats in that area can be for fishing, leisure, personal recreation. We just don’t know what they were doing out there. We all know it’s a suspected smuggling route,” Tamburini said.

Simon caps a Pacific season of record-breaking intensity, as deadly storms wreak havoc from Hawaii to Mexico.

At least two people have died in Mexico after Hurricane Simon and former tropical storm Rachel brought torrential rain and catastrophic flooding to Pacific coast communities.

At a Monday news briefing, Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado confirmed that a 71-year-old man had died during Hurricane Simon after a retaining wall collapsed under the weight of intense precipitation.

According to the Guerrero-based news agency IRZA, the man, identified by his family as Albino Moreno Jimenez, had been feeding his animals on the western outskirts of Chilpancingo when a wall came crashing down on him.

A second death was announced later in the day in the state of Baja California along Mexico’s western coast. There, Governor Marina del Pilar said that a young girl had died from the effects of what was once Hurricane Rachel, which peaked in early October as a Category 3 storm.

At least 10 more people remain missing in Baja California, according to the governor. Eight were reported missing in the city of Ensenada, on the Pacific coast, and two in the fishing town of San Felipe on the Gulf of California.

The figures remain preliminary, with local newspaper La Jornada reporting a higher death toll of two in Baja California and 11 missing.

Death toll expected to rise

Rachel made landfall in the Mexican state as a post-tropical cyclone, and its remnants have travelled north through southern California in the southwestern United States.

Hurricane Simon, meanwhile, has churned off the coast of Mexico since the weekend. By late Monday morning, it had weakened from a powerful Category 4 storm to a Category 2.

Its maximum sustained winds had slowed slightly to around 155km/h (100mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center. Its centre was about 115km west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, a cape in the state of Jalisco, drifting west at 3km/h.

Forecasters predict Simon could make landfall on Thursday or Friday. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for western Mexico, which is vulnerable to landslides and deadly surf conditions as a result of the storm.

Experts warn the death toll from both storms could rise, and officials have called on residents to exercise caution amid the devastation wrought by downed trees, high winds and floodwaters.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported the death of a cliff diver, Juan Patines, who was killed in Mazatlan, the northwestern state of Sinaloa, after jumping into the sea on Saturday night.

According to Mexican media, the heavy surf hampered his efforts to return to shore amid dangerous coastal conditions associated with Hurricane Simon. Local authorities later halted cliff-diving at the site due to hazardous sea conditions.

Officials have yet to confirm whether his death was directly linked to Hurricane Simon.

A record Pacific storm season

Rachel and Simon have battered Mexico’s western coast as part of an extraordinary stretch of hurricane activity across the Pacific.

The northeastern and central Pacific Ocean has experienced a record storm season this year, fuelled in part by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which results in warming waters in parts of the region. Twenty-one named storms have been recorded in the Pacific so far.

On Sunday, Simon tipped the region to a historic high for accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), a metric of the combined strength and longevity of tropical storms. This year has already surpassed the previous high set in 2018.

The US island chain of Hawaii has been among the hardest-hit places. In August, Hurricane Lala unleashed ruinous flooding on Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 storm, killing a 93-year-old woman and destroying some 100 homes, according to state officials.

A few weeks later, Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, struck the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau, where powerful winds, storm surge and flooding overwhelmed towns and roads.

Roughly 90 percent of Kauai’s power customers were plunged into darkness as a result of electricity outages. At least two deaths were linked to Lowell.

In late September, Hurricane Nolo brought another round of flooding and landslides to the Hawaiian islands, though it did not make landfall.