Mexican artisans preserve Day of the Dead decorations

A woman dressed as Mexico's iconic 'Catrina' poses for tourists in Mexico City's main square, the Zocalo, as part of the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico City this weekend. Photo: AP

Mexican artisans are struggling to preserve the traditional manufacture of paper cut-out decorations long used in altars for the Day of the Dead.

Defying increasingly popular mass-production techniques, second-generation paper cutter Yuridia Torres Alfaro, 49, still makes her own stencils at her family’s workshop in Xochimilco, on the rural southern edge of Mexico City.