On Nov. 1, 2025, crowds gathered in front of the National Mall in Washington D.C. for the El Desfile de Catrinas event, which celebrates Dia de los Muertos, a multi-day Mexican holiday that honors dead loved ones, or Day of the Dead. As a part of its celebrations attendees dressed up and walked into an exhibit that displayed Catrinas made out of paper mache, live music, face painting, and people signing up for the competition and parade.
(Angelina Veramendi)
The highlight of the event was the Desfile de Catrinas, or the Parade of Catrinas where there was also a best costume competition that had two categories, Antes Muerta Que Sencilla, the adults category and Niños, or children. All contestants will later parade around DC, visiting monuments like the Lincoln memorial, the WWII memorial, and the Washington monument. The host for the event was Alizee Torres, a TV and Radio host, who was also dressed up for the occasion.
The winner of the Niños category was Valentina Suria, a 3rd grader from northern Virginia.
“It feels just good to be here and see different people’s dresses,” said Suria. “Everything is beautiful, like dresses and the traditional dances.”
The winner for the Antes Muerta Que Sencilla category was Vanessa Duran, an upcoming model.
“When we weren’t able to communicate through languages they used to communicate through symbols,” said Sencilla. “And then we have the papel picado, which is a huge part of Dia de los Muertos”.
Duran found her win surprising. “First place honestly feels unbelievable,” said Sencilla.
