Mexico City (AFP) – As Mexico prepares for the Day of the Dead — a holiday when families honor and remember deceased loved ones with altars, flowers and offerings — markets across the country are filling with colorful “papel picado”, the delicate cut-paper decorations that have become one of the celebration’s most recognizable symbols. In the town of San Salvador Huixcolotla, in the central state of Puebla, artisans continue to craft the decorations by hand despite growing competition from mass-produced versions. At a family-run workshop, generations of craftspeople painstakingly cut intricate designs and assemble garlands, determined to preserve a tradition they say remains a powerful expression of Mexican culture and identity.
