San Juan del Río hosts National Mourners Contest

The National Mourners Contest (Concurso Nacional de Plañideras) took place on October 30 at the Jardín Independencia in San Juan del Río, Mexico, as part of the 20th Day of the Dead Festival. Approximately 25 participants competed in the event, which aims to preserve the traditional craft of professional mourning.

The competition consisted of two stages. In the first round, contestants had one minute to mourn a national or international figure from politics, culture, sports, or entertainment. Following this, a jury selected eight finalists for a second round where they performed interpretations of characters assigned on the spot.

Karla Patricia Alvarado Arceo won first place, receiving a diploma and 12,000 pesos after mourning Jenny Rivera and Valentín Elizalde. Olga Araceli Ibarra took second place with 8,000 pesos for her performance regarding Cepillín and Pedro Sola. Mercedes Maya earned third place and 4,000 pesos for her interpretations of Diego Rivera and Michael Jackson.