Mexico City, Mar 28 (EFE).– Day of the Dead symbols, including skulls, skeletons and altars to be used in the opening scene of “Spectre,” the latest installment in the James Bond spy saga, have taken over the Mexican capital’s downtown area in recent days.

Daniel Craig, who plays the world’s most famous secret agent, and other cast members have spent the past several days in the streets surrounding Mexico City’s massive Zocalo main square, where some scenes were shot on Friday.

“We’re here today to honor the country of Mexico, the art of Mexico, the celebration of the Day of the Dead, and all of that is going to be in a Bond film, so I don’t think there’s anything better than that,’ the film’s production designer, Dennis Gassner, told a group of reporters who visited the movie set on Friday.

The first scene of the film, which is to premiere in October and also will be shot in Britain, Austria, Italy and Morocco, will take place in Mexico City and “it’s going to be an incredible opening,” he added.

Costume designer Jany Temime said for her part that the Mexican capital is “a city that’s beautiful and colorful,” providing a contrast with “the whites of Austria and the grays of London.”

Although only the opening 10 minutes of the film take place in Mexico City, a massive operation was carried out in preparation for the shooting, including 500 extras, many of whom needed two-and-a-half hour makeup sessions; 1,000 costumes; 450 masks; and a makeup team of consisting of more than 100 people.

Makeup artist Naomi Donne said she wanted to be “very respectful with the Mexican people (in her depiction of the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated on Nov. 2) because it’s very important for them.”

Although the rain briefly interrupted the shooting, a chase scene through several downtown streets was filmed on Friday morning as a continuation of the Day of the Dead parade that had been recreated two days earlier.

“What we’re showing here at the beginning will show Mexico in a totally different light to what people know,” second unit director Alexander Witt said.

Although the need to close roads for shooting has caused traffic jams in recent days, the inconvenience is worth it, Witt said, adding that it will encourage other filmmakers come and shoot scenes in the country. EFE