Culture | The architecture of death

Drug lords’ tombs are monuments to opulence

In a Mexican cemetery, bling-bling burials lionise the dead

A three story high mausoleum in the Jardines de Humaya, a cemetery where many drug barons are buried
No noisy neighbours hereImage: Panos
|Culiacán

On November 1st and 2nd millions of Mexicans will visit cemeteries to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The tradition, a fusion of Catholic and indigenous belief, holds that the dead briefly come back to join the living. Families play music and decorate loved ones’ graves with orange cempasúchil flowers, banners and food.

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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Narcdeco style”

From the October 28th 2023 edition

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