Explaining his reasons for choosing the ‘Day of the Dead’ festival for SPECTRE, Mendes commented at the time: ‘I wanted the audience to be dropped into the middle of a very, very specific, very heady, rich environment. The pre-credits filming that was carried out for SPECTRE in Mexico City, which saw a huge amount of behind-the-scenes preparation and make-up work put into the ‘Day of the Dead’ festivities, kicked off the movie in heart-thumping style, and was largely the result of an idea that came to Sam Mendes. We knew this was going to generate a desire on the part of people here, among Mexicans and tourists, to come and participate in a big parade’. Lourdes Berho, chief executive of the Mexico tourism board, explained: ‘When this movie hit the big screen and was seen by millions of people in 67 countries, that started to create expectations that we would have something. In fact, it was so successful all the indications are now pointing towards this becoming a permanent annual fixture in Mexico City’s calendar, helping to boost the country’s growing tourist industry. The event proved to be very popular indeed, drawing tens of thousands of onlookers to the city centre’s streets to watch the procession and enjoy the atmosphere and colourful sights. Numerous floats, large skeleton marionettes, and over a 1,000 actors, dancers, and acrobats all took part in the special parade. Last weekend, though, the Mexican government – under some pressure to allow the capital city to live up to the expectations created by SPECTRE – organised a major ‘Day of the Dead’ parade for the first time. Traditionally, Mexico’s ‘Day of the Dead’ celebrations, which take place annually on November 1st and 2nd, have consisted more of quiet family gatherings to mark the arrival of All Saints eve, often with visits to the graves of loved ones, with some songs, music and drinks. There was no official major ‘Day of the Dead’ parade in Mexico City. However, the parade was actually something specially created for the world of James Bond. As many 007 fans will recall, director Sam Mendes and his hard-working crew created a spectacular pre-credits sequence for the 24th Bond movie, which involved a dramatic a foot-chase and helicopter fight, a confrontation which took place against the backdrop of the capital’s ‘Day of the Dead’ parade. The latest James Bond movie SPECTRE, released to huge box office success in 2015, has evidently left a special and lasting legacy in Mexico City.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |