Qatar is preparing to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to the 2022 World Cup and many local businesses are eager to receive them. For many tourists, it’s a chance to see this part of the world for the first time.  VOA News reporter Celia Mendoza has the story from Doha, Qatar. Camera: Celia Mendoza, Nelson Biñoles
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Beyoncé has propelled herself into the highest Grammy echelon: The singer claimed a leading nine nominations Tuesday, making her tied — with her husband, Jay-Z — as the most nominated music act in the history of the awards show. 

Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” reeled in record and song of the year nominations, while “Renaissance,” which ventured into the world of dancehall music, netted an album of the year nod. With Jay-Z also earning five nods this year, each spouse now holds the record for the most-ever Grammy nominations at 88 apiece. 

Kendrick Lamar came away with the second-most nominations, with eight. Adele and Brandi Carlile both received seven nods. Harry Styles, Mary J. Blige, Future, DJ Khaled, The-Dream and mastering engineer Randy Merrill each picked up six. 

Nearly half of this year’s leading nominees are women and more than half are people of color, according to the recording academy. The ceremony will be held February 5 in Los Angeles. 

“This makes me feel very proud, but it makes me conscious of the fact that we have to maintain the work we have done,” said Harvey Mason jr., the Recording Academy’s CEO. He said there have been strides in the peer-driven voting system and increased membership, but he still believes more progress can be made. 

“We have almost 13,000 voters now.” Mason said. … “I’m pleased to think they spent the time listening to the music and evaluating. I think you see by the type of nominations that they are not only going for just popular music or music that has a lot of streams. It’s just music of high quality.” 

The academy added a special song for social change and five new categories including songwriter of the year, which Harvey says will further help diversify the 65th edition of the annual awards. 

The non-classical songwriter category will recognize one individual who was the “most prolific” non-performing and non-producing songwriter for a body of new work during an eligibility year. It will take a different approach than song of the year, which awards the songwriters who wrote the lyrics or melodies to one song. 

Harvey said implementing the songwriter category is a significant step forward for the music industry. Last year, a rule update allowed that any songwriter, producer, engineer or featured artist on a work nominated for album of the year could ultimately earn a nomination. 

“The academy and voters are placing a high importance on the craft of songwriting,” Harvey said of the new category, in which nominees include The-Dream, Amy Allen, Nija Charles, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Laura Veltz. 

Harvey said it’s his priority to earn the trust from the music community including The Weeknd and Drake, who are still unwilling to submit any of their music. Drake declined to submit his album “Honestly Nevermind” for the awards, but the Canadian rapper still received four nominations, including album of the year for his co-writing efforts on Beyoncé’s “Renaissance.” 

Beyoncé, the most decorated woman in Grammy history with 28 wins, could break the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti’s record for most awards won if she wins four awards. Solti, who has 31 Grammys, has held on to the record since 1997. 

For the first time in Beyoncé’s lauded career, she was nominated in the dance category. Her seventh studio project is up for best dance-electronic music album and “Break My Soul” is nominated for best dance-electronic recording. Other nominations include best R&B song for “Cuff It,” R&B performance for “Virgo’s Groove,” traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Sofa” and song written for visual media for “Be Alive,” the Oscar-nominated song from the “King Richard” soundtrack. 

Other album of the year nominees include: Adele’s “30,” ABBA’s “Voyage,” Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti,” Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous” (Deluxe), Carlile’s “In These Silent Days,” Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres,” Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” Lizzo’s “Special” and Styles’ “Harry’s House.” Bad Bunny made history, with his album becoming the first sung entirely in Spanish to compete in the category. 

Tracks competing with “Break My Soul” for record of the year include Styles’ “As It Was,” Doja Cat’s “Woman,” Adele’s “Easy On Me,” ABBA’s “Don’t Shut Me Down,” Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” and Carlile’s “You and Me On the Rock” featuring Lucius. 

Three of Jay-Z’s nominations came through DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” a song featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend and Fridayy. The track is up for best rap performance and rap song along with song of the year, which also has Jay-Z nominated for his writing efforts on Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul.” The rapper also received a nod for album of the year for his work on his wife’s “Renaissance” album. 

Young Thug and Gunna both received nominations despite being currently locked up in a racketeering criminal case. The rappers are up for best rap song and rap performance through Gunna’s “pushin P,” featuring Thug and Future. 

Christina Aguilera’s comeback to Latin music with her self-titled album earned her two nominations for best Latin pop album and immersive audio album. Among the 10 nominees for best new artist are Muni Long, Latto and Eurovision winner Maneskin. 
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In a last-minute controversial move, Pakistan has banned the screening of its international award-winning movie, “Joyland” in theaters across the country for containing “highly objectionable” content.

The movie, which features a married man falling for a transgender woman, was supposed to be released in Pakistani cinemas Friday.

In May, “Joyland” became the first Pakistani feature film to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It is also Pakistan’s entry for the 2023 Academy Awards in the United States.

The government-led Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) had in August formally granted the filmmaker the license to screen the movie in cinemas.

A federal information ministry statement, however, said that it had stopped the screening of the movie as the material in question does not “conform with the social values and moral stands of our society.”

The material in question is “clearly repugnant to the norms of decency and morality” in line with the relevant laws, said the statement without elaborating.

The director of “Joyland” denounced the decision as “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal.”

“We — a team — are gutted by this development but fully intend to raise our voice against this grave injustice,” Saim Sadiq said in an Instagram post late Sunday.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who represents the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party in the upper house of parliament, was leading the campaign against the screening of “Joyland” in Pakistan. He praised the government’s decision to revoke the license.

“Pakistan is an Islamic state where no law, no step and no ideology against Islam can work here,” Khan wrote on Twitter.

Sadiq criticized the government, saying it “caved under pressure from a few extremist factions … and made a mockery of our federal censor board.” He urged the information ministry to review its decision.

Independent critics, Pakistani show business celebrities and social media activists also questioned the movie ban in a country that recognizes and gives legal rights to transgender people.

Salman Sufi, a key government adviser, announced Monday on Twitter that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a high-level committee to “assess the complaints as well as merits to decide on its release in Pakistan.”

“I personally do not believe in banning films that highlight issues faced by marginalized segments of our society. People should be trusted to watch & make their own mind,” Sufi tweeted Sunday in response to the widespread outcry sparked by the ban.

Pakistan has in recent years taken significant legal and administrative measures in its bid to protect the rights of transgender people who are often considered outcasts in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation.

The reforms effectively started with a landmark Supreme Court ruling a decade ago, which directed authorities to register transgender people as voters and give them, among others, equal inheritance and job opportunity rights.

The government launched a hotline this past September for transgender people, estimated to number around 500,000, to protect them against discrimination and harassment.
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California is home to the largest Arab American community in the United States. That growing economic and political visibility is evident in Southern California’s newly designated “Little Arabia” neighborhood. For VOA, Genia Dulot takes us there. Videographer and producer: Genia Dulot
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Facial hair enthusiasts claimed to have set a new world record for longest beard chain during an event in Wyoming on Friday, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.

Participants gathered at Gaslight Social, a bar in Casper, where they stood side by side and clipped their beards together to create a hairy chain that was measured at 150 feet long, according to the newspaper. That’s more than double the Guinness World Record of 62 feet, 6 inches, set in Germany in 2007.

To participate, people needed to sport a beard at least 8 inches long, according to the Star-Tribune.

The event occurred on the sidelines of the National Beard and Moustache Championships, which took place Saturday at the city’s Ford Wyoming Center.
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Phrygian caps will be the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots as organizers look to to celebrate the French revolution’s spirit.

“‘Phryges’ aim to show that sport can change everything, and that it deserves to have a prominent place in our society,” Paris 2024 brand director Julie Matikhine said on Monday.

The Phrygian caps were favored over animals, who have mostly been the first choice in other Olympics — such as the ‘Bing Dwen Dwen’ panda at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing this year.

“We were almost ready not to make a mascot if we didn’t find a real reason to do so, and a real message to convey,” said Matikhine.

“The mascot must embody the French spirit, which is something very fine to grasp. It’s an ideal, a kind of conviction that carries the values of our country, and which has been built up over time, over history.”

The red Phrygian caps come in two versions — the Olympic and the Paralympic one — with a blade leg.

The Olympic Games will be held from July 26-Aug. 11 and the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
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Art restorers in the Italian city of Florence have begun a six-month project to clean and virtually “unveil” a long-censored nude painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most prominent women in the history of Italian art.

Swirling veils and drapery were added to the “Allegory of Inclination” some 70 years after Gentileschi painted the life-size female nude, believed to be a self-portrait, in 1616.

The work to reveal the image as originally painted comes as Gentileschi’s contribution to Italian Baroque art is getting renewed attention in the #MeToo era, both for her artistic achievements but also for breaking into the male-dominated art world after being raped by one of her art teachers.

Her work was featured in a 2020 exhibit at the National Gallery in London.

“Through her, we can talk about how important it is to restore artwork, how important it is to restore the stories of women to the forefront,” said Linda Falcone, coordinator of the Artemisia Up Close project.

“Allegory of Inclination” originally was commissioned for the family home of Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, the great-nephew of the famed artist. The building later became the Casa Buonarotti museum, and the painting was displayed until recently on the ceiling in a gilded frame. When lead conservator Elizabeth Wick removed the painting in late September, a shower of 400-year-old dust was released.

Wick’s team of restorers is using ultraviolet light, diagnostic imaging and X-rays to differentiate Gentileschi’s brush strokes from those of the artist that covered the nudity. The public can watch the project underway at the museum through April 23.

Restorers won’t be able to remove the veils because the cover-up was done too soon after the original, raising the risk that Gentileschi’s painting would be damaged in the process.

Instead, the restoration team plans to create a digital image of the original version that will be displayed in an exhibition on the project opening in September 2023.

Gentileschi arrived in Florence shortly after the trial in Rome of her rapist, during which the then-17-year-old was forced to testify with ropes tied around her fingers that were progressively tightened in a test of her honesty.

She also had to endure a physical examination in the courtroom behind a curtain to confirm that she was no longer a virgin. Eventually, her rapist was convicted and sentenced to eight months in prison.

“Somebody else would have been crushed by this experience,” Wick said. “But Artemisia bounces back. She comes up to Florence. She gets this wonderful commission to paint a full-length nude figure for the ceiling of Casa Buonarroti. So, I think she’s showing people, ‘This is what I can do.'”

While in Florence, Gentileschi also won commissions from the Medici family. Her distinctive, dramatic and energetic style emerged, taking inspiration from the most renowned Baroque painter of the time, Caravaggio. Many of her paintings featured female heroines, often in violent scenes and often nude.

She was 22 when she painted “Allegory of Inclination,” which was commissioned by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger. Another member of the family, Leonardo Buonarroti, decided to have it embellished to protect the sensibilities of his wife and children.

“This is one of her first paintings. In the Florentine context, it was her debut painting, the same year she was then accepted into the Academy of Drawing, which was the first drawing academy in Europe at the time,” Falcone said.

With the younger Michelangelo as her patron, Gentileschi gained entry to the cultural milieu of the time.

“She was able to hobnob with Galileo and with other great thinkers. So this almost illiterate woman was suddenly at the university level, producing works of art that were then, you know, appreciated by the Grand Duke,” Falcone said. “And she became a courtly painter from then on.”
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Taylor Swift walked away with four prizes at MTV’s Europe Music Awards on Sunday, including best video for her 10-minute “All Too Well.”   

Double-award winners included Nicki Minaj for best song and best hip-hop, and the French DJ and record producer David Guetta won the best electronic award and best collaboration.   

The event, broadcast on MTV from Duesseldorf in western Germany, honored musicians from Brazil to South Korea.   

It featured an appearance by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, the winner of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which performed “Stefania” in an arena glowing with Ukraine’s national colors of blue and yellow.   

The U.S. pop singer Swift, wearing a dress of bejeweled mesh, won best artist, best pop, best video and best long form video.   

“I felt like I learned so much about how making film can be a natural extension of my storytelling,” Swift said as she accepted the long form video award.   

In “All Too Well,” Swift draws inspiration from 1970s Hollywood and recounts a fraying romantic relationship that disintegrates, leaving behind only a scarf and memories.   

“It was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well,” Swift sings.   

Minaj’s winning song “Super Freaky Girl” incorporates the 1981 hit “Super Freak” with lyrics “I can lick it, I can ride it while you slippin’ and slidin’.”   

British pop star Harry Styles won in the “best live” category and the Thai-born Lalisa ‘Lisa’ Manoban won best K-pop. South Korea’s BTS, the global K-pop sensation, won the biggest fans category.   

The hosts for the show were British pop star Rita Ora and the film director Taika Waititi, who married this year. Ora herself won for “best look.”   

Duesseldorf has a musical heritage as home to the pioneering German electronic band Kraftwerk, which influenced generations of pop and dance musicians with mesmerizing tracks such as “Autobahn.”   

The city also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011.   

Screaming teens watched the stars walk down a red carpet before the event was broadcast from the PSD Bank Dome.   

Julian Lennon, the son of the Beatles’ John Lennon, said as he entered that he had not seen a concert in years and was looking forward to it.   

The rock band Muse, which won the best rock award, said it was dedicating its victory to the people of Ukraine and Iran.   

Kalush Orchestra’s frontman Oleh Psiuk, donning a pink hat, said before the performance that he hoped more Ukrainian bands would be present next year.
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The box office roared back to life with the long-awaited release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

The Marvel sequel earned $180 million in ticket sales from more than 4,396 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to estimates from The Walt Disney Co. on Sunday, making it the second biggest opening of the year behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” Overseas, it brought in an additional $150 million from 50 territories, bringing its worldwide total to $330 million.

“Wakanda Forever” was eagerly anticipated by both audiences and exhibitors, who have weathered a slow spell at the box office since the summer movie season ended and there were fewer bigger budget blockbusters in the pipeline. The film got off to a mighty start a bit stronger than even the first film with an $84 million opening day, including $28 million from Thursday previews.

“Some may have hoped for $200 million like the first film, but this is solid,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. “This is the type of movie that theaters really need to drive audiences.”

The first film opened to $202 million in February 2018 and went on to gross over $1.4 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest grossing films of all time and a cultural phenomenon. A sequel was inevitable, and development began soon after with director Ryan Coogler returning, but everything changed after Chadwick Boseman’s unexpected death in August 2020. “Wakanda Forever” became, instead, about the death of Boseman’s King T’Challa/Black Panther, and the grieving kingdom he left behind. Returning actors include Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Danai Gurira, who face off against a new foe in Tenoch Huerta’s Namor. The film would face more complications too, including Wright getting injured and some COVID-19 related setbacks. All told, it cost a reported $250 million to make, not accounting for marketing and promotion.

AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote in his review that, “‘Wakanda Forever’ is overlong, a little unwieldy and somewhat mystifyingly steers toward a climax on a barge in the middle of the Atlantic. But Coogler’s fluid command of mixing intimacy with spectacle remains gripping.”

It currently holds an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and, as is often the case with comic book films, the audience scores are even higher.

Superhero films have fared well during the pandemic, but none yet have reached the heights of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which opened to $260.1 million in Dec. 2021. Other big launches include “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” ($187.4 million in May), “Thor: Love and Thunder” ($144.2 million in July) and “The Batman” ($134 million in March).

“Wakanda Forever” is the first film to open over $100 million since “Thor” in July, which has been difficult for exhibitors that are already dealing with a calendar that has about 30% fewer wide releases than in a normal year.

Holdovers populated the rest of the top five, as no film dared launch nationwide against a Marvel behemoth. Second place went to the DC superhero “Black Adam,” with $8.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $151.1 million. “Ticket to Paradise” landed in third, in weekend four, with $6.1 million. The Julia Roberts and George Clooney romantic comedy has made nearly $150 million worldwide. “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” and “Smile” rounded out the top five with $3.2 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

Some awards hopefuls have struggled in their expansions lately, but Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin,” with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, looks like an exception. The Martin McDonagh film expanded to 960 theaters in its fourth weekend and got seventh place on the charts with $1.7 million, bringing its total to $5.8 million.

“It’s been a very interesting post-summer period for movie theaters, with some gems out there doing well like ‘Ticket to Paradise’ and ‘Smile,'” Dergarabedian said. “But movie theaters can’t survive on non-blockbuster style films. The industry needs more of these.”

After “Black Panther,” the next blockbuster on the schedule is “Avatar: The Way of Water,” arriving Dec. 16.

The weekend wasn’t completely without any other high-profile releases. Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama ” The Fabelmans” opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles with $160,000. Universal and Amblin will roll the film out to more theaters in the coming weeks to build excitement around the likely Oscar-contender. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play parents to the Spielberg stand-in Sammy Fabelman, who is falling in love with movies and filmmaking as his parents’ marriage crumbles.

“This will be an interesting holiday season,” Dergarabedian said. “I think a lot of the dramas and independent films will have their time to shine over the next couple months.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” $180 million.

2. “Black Adam,” $8.6 million.

3. “Ticket to Paradise,” $6.1 million.

4. “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile,” $3.2 million.

5. “Smile,” $2.3 million.

6. “Prey for the Devil,” $2 million.

7. “The Banshees of Inisherin,” $1.7 million.

8. “One Piece Film Red,” $1.4 million.

9. “Till,” $618,000.

10. “Yashoda,” $380,000.

 
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At first, Saskia Nino de Rivera was excited about going to Qatar for a World Cup that would mark a significant professional event for her partner, a sports agent for Mexico soccer players. She even contemplated privately proposing there during a game, and posting photos once they left the country. 

But as the lesbian couple learned more about laws on same-sex relations in the conservative Gulf country, the plans no longer sounded like a good idea. Instead, Nino de Rivera proposed at an Amsterdam stadium this summer and opted to skip the World Cup altogether. 

“As a lesbian woman, it’s really hard for me to feel and think that we are going to a country where we don’t know what could happen and how we could be safe,” she said. “It was a really hard decision.” 

Nino de Rivera’s concerns are shared by many LGBTQ soccer fans and their allies worldwide. Some have been mulling whether to attend the tournament, or even watch it on television. 

Qatar’s laws against gay sex and treatment of LGBTQ people are flashpoints in the run-up to the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, or in any Arab or Muslim country. Qatar has said all are welcome, including LGBTQ fans, but that visitors should respect the nation’s culture, in which public displays of affection by anyone are frowned on. With his country facing criticism over a number of issues, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, recently argued it “has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign” that no host country has ever faced. 

An ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar, however, has described homosexuality as a “damage in the mind” in an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF. Aired this week, the comments by former Qatari national team player Khalid Salman highlighted concerns about the conservative country’s treatment of gays and lesbians. 

Some LGBTQ rights activists are seizing the moment to draw attention, with a heightened sense of urgency, to the conditions of LGBTQ citizens and residents in Qatar. They want to raise concerns about how these people may be treated after the tournament ends and the international spotlight fades. 

Dario Minden, who is from Germany, said he’s keen on soccer but won’t watch a single minute of the tournament as a show of solidarity with LGBTQ people in Qatar. Recently, he jumped at the opportunity to lobby for change. 

At a human rights congress hosted by the German soccer federation in Frankfurt, Minden told the Qatari ambassador to Germany that Qatar should abolish its penalties for homosexuality. 

“I happen to be a gay football fan and I thought that this is a great opportunity to … speak in front of such a high representative, to connect the topic with a face,” Minden said in an interview. 

Rasha Younes, LGBTQ rights senior researcher in the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch, said that while Qatari officials have offered some reassurances for LGBTQ fans, the possibility of stigma and discrimination remained in housing, access to health care and safely reporting potential sexual violence. 

At the same time, she argued, “suggestions that Qatar should make an exception for outsiders are implicit reminders that Qatari authorities do not believe that its LGBT residents deserve basic rights or exist,” adding her organization was concerned about conditions for local LGBTQ people, including after the tournament. 

Qatari law calls for a prison sentence of one to three years for whoever is “instigating” or “seducing” a male to “commit sodomy,” as well as for “inducing or seducing a male or a female in any way to commit illegal or immoral actions.” 

In the run-up to the World Cup, Qatari security forces have been accused of mistreating LGBTQ people. In a statement, the Qatari government has denied those allegations: “Qatar does not tolerate discrimination against anyone, and our policies and procedures are underpinned by a commitment to human rights for all.” 

Dr. Nasser Mohamed, an openly gay Qatari activist who now lives in the United States, is among those saying that international attention is disproportionately focused on visitors and not enough on LGBTQ people in Qatar. He publicly came out and has been lobbying to expand the conversation before the World Cup. 

“Being in a country that has no LGBT visibility, no conversations about what it’s like to be an LGBT person, made me feel like there’s something wrong with me,” he said in an interview. With the current intense public debates, “I feel like there is a moment of urgency to … put something out there now to actually let people know that we’re not OK.” 

Josie Nixon of the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ people in sports, said the group was part of a coalition of LGBTQ rights organizations that made demands of FIFA and the Qatari organizers. These included repealing laws targeting LGBTQ people, providing “explicit safety guarantees” against harassment, arrest or detention, and working to ensure the long-term safety of LGBTQ people in the region. 

“FIFA and Qatar have taken steps to make sure that LGBTQ fans are safe, but is that enough to change the way Qatar views LGBTQ citizens?” said Nixon, who lives in Colorado. “My answer is no.” 

Even before the tournament kicks off, questions about what legacy it would leave behind loomed large amid intense international scrutiny over Qatar’s human rights record, including treatment of migrant workers. As the World Cup neared, Qatari officials sounded increasingly frustrated, saying their country’s achievements and progress were being overlooked and that the attacks raise questions about the motive behind them. 

“Qatar believes strongly in the power of sport to bring people together and build bridges of cultural understanding,” the Qatari government said in a statement to The Associated Press in response to questions. “The World Cup can help change misconceptions, and we want fans to travel home with a better understanding of our country, culture and region. We believe this tournament … can show that people of different nationalities, religions and backgrounds in fact have more in common than they think.” 

The statement added that Qatar is a country of “warm hospitality” and will continue to ensure the safety of all “regardless of background.” 

FIFA’s top officials have recently urged the teams preparing for the World Cup to focus on soccer and avoid letting the game be dragged into ideological or political battles. The officials did not address or identify any specific issue in their message, which angered some human rights activists. 

In soccer-crazy Argentina, Juan Pablo Morino, president of the group Gays Passionate About Soccer said he was dismayed by FIFA’s decision to organize the World Cup in Qatar. 

“In the election of a host, basic parameters of coexistence should be met. It cannot be that any country is a candidate,” he said. 

In Mexico, Nino de Rivera said she would be supporting her fiancée, who will attend the tournament for work, from afar. That makes her sad. 

The decision to sit out the World Cup “has to do with being true to your own values and bringing a lot of money to a country where you’re not welcome because of your sexual orientation,” she said. She was scared that if they went as a couple, they might have been harassed or worse while having dinner or walking back to the hotel. 

“The World Cup is normally an event that brings people together, where it doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re from … what religion you have; it doesn’t matter what community you belong to,” she said. “We all speak the same language. We all speak football.” 

 
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Playwriting and theater production have opened a new world for a California man who spent 17 years in prison. Mike O’Sullivan reports on an arts program that teaches creative skills to former prisoners seeking new lives.
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Jimmy Kimmel is ready to host the Oscars again, completing a trilogy that started with him presiding over the chaotic “envelope-gate” ceremony. 

The late-night talk show host will preside over the ceremony in March, the show’s producers said Monday. 

“We’re super thrilled to have Jimmy score his hat trick on this global stage,” executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said in a joint statement. “We know he will be funny and ready for anything!” 

Kimmel has hosted the show twice before, in 2017, when he managed the chaotic final moments in which the wrong best picture winner was called, and then the next year, which came just months into the #MeToo reckoning. 

“Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap,” Kimmel said. “Either way, I am grateful to the academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.” 

After the 90th Oscars in 2018, which Kimmel hosted to generally positive reviews, the Academy Awards went without a host until the 94th ceremony earlier this year when Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes shared the stage. 

“Jimmy is the perfect host to help us recognize the incredible artists and films of our 95th Oscars,” added academy CEO Bill Kramer and academy President Janet Yang. “His love of movies, live TV expertise, and ability to connect with our global audiences will create an unforgettable experience for our millions of viewers worldwide.” 

Molly McNearney, who is the co-head writer and executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and is married to Kimmel, will also serve as an executive producer on the Oscars broadcast. Ratings have been on a bit of a rollercoaster for the esteemed Hollywood awards show. The 94th Oscars was an improvement with 15.36 million viewers, but that was also in comparison to the previous year’s record low, which befell many COVID-modified awards shows. As always ratings will be paramount for broadcaster ABC. 

“Having Jimmy Kimmel return to host the Oscars is a dream come true. As we see every night on his own show, Jimmy can handle anything with both heart and humor, and we know that he will deliver the laughs and celebratory moments that define the Oscars,” said Craig Erwich, president of ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. “We love being the home of Hollywood’s biggest night and can’t wait to toast the success of this year’s cinema and storytelling.” 

This next event is a landmark anniversary year for the show, and the first to follow “the slap,” in which Will Smith struck presenter Chris Rock on stage. Smith, who went on to win best actor that night, was banned from the Oscars for 10 years as a result. The organization’s leadership has said that they’d like to move on from the slap and focus on a ceremony that celebrates cinema. 

The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on ABC in more than 200 territories worldwide. 
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Kenyans Evans Chebet and Sharon Lokedi made huge splashes in their New York City Marathon debuts Sunday.

Chebet won the men’s race and Lokedi the women’s race in her first-ever marathon on an unseasonably warm day, with temperatures in the 70s making it one of the hottest in race history since the marathon was moved to November in 1986.

Chebet finished in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 41 seconds, which was 13 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Shura Kitata of Ethiopia.

There was a scary moment in the men’s race when Daniel Do Nascimento, who had been leading the entire way, collapsed 21 miles in. Race officials said later that he was OK.

The Brazilian ran the first half of the race in a blistering 1:01.22, which put him 2 minutes ahead of the course record pace. He had been leading by nearly 2 minutes for the first 15 miles before he started to slow down a bit.

Do Nascimento went down right before heading back into Manhattan and was quickly attended to by medical professionals. A few miles earlier, he had taken a quick 20-second bathroom break and also had stopped to walk briefly a few minutes before he collapsed.

Chebet saw Do Nascimento on the ground and said he “felt bad for him but had to continue to race.”

“He knew that it was hot and humid and (Do Nascimento) was going at a high pace,” Chebet said through a translator. “He has a lot of experience, and he knew he was going to surpass him.”

Chebet, 33, pulled away from the pack when chasing Do Nascimento as they headed over the bridge into Manhattan for the first time. After Do Nascimento’s collapse, Chebet took the lead and wasn’t threatened the rest of the way.

Chebet won the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

“Boston was actually harder and it prepared him for the win for New York,” the translator said for Chebet. “He’s very thankful.”

The victory continued a drought for American men in the race: No runner from the U.S. has won since 2009. The Americans’ top hope, Galen Rupp, was in the chase pack before withdrawing from the race right before the 19-mile mark.

It was Lokedi’s first-ever marathon, and she finished in 2:23.23 — just ahead of Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel.

“I’m just so happy that I just won, you know?!” said Lokedi, laughing. “I’m really excited, just so happy that I did it here. The people out there, the course was amazing, the cheers, everything. I’m just thankful.”

The 28-year-old was in a tight race before she pulled ahead of Chemtai Salpeter in the final 2 miles to win by seven seconds and finish about 50 seconds off the course record.

“I didn’t expect to win, I expected to run well,” Lokedi said. “It was a good outcome and I’m really excited.”

An hour earlier, the men’s and women’s wheelchair races ended with course records being broken.

Marcel Hug of Switzerland was victorious in the men’s wheelchair race for the fifth time, tying Kurt Fearnley for most-ever victories in that event. Hug finished the 26.2-mile (42.2 kilometers) course that goes through all five boroughs of New York in 1:25.26 to break the previous mark of 1:29.22 set by Fearnley of Australia in 2006.

“The conditions were great for us. A tail wind the first half. It was very good conditions. I think that’s the reason,” Hug said of the record time. “I didn’t know the time. My goal was to go as fast as possible and didn’t focus on the time.”

Hug, who also won the race last year, earned $50,000 for besting the course record. He crossed the finish line more than 2 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Daniel Romanchuk of Illinois.

The 36-year-old Hug, nicknamed the “The Silver Bullet,” has been on quite a streak, winning four gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics last year as well as the Tokyo, Berlin, London and Chicago Marathons in 2022.

Susannah Scaroni also broke the course record in the women’s wheelchair race, finishing in 1:42.43. That was 21 seconds better than the old mark, which was held by Tatyana McFadden.

Scaroni, a 31-year-old from Illinois, pulled away from the field early and also earned the bonus money for topping the course record. Scaroni won the Chicago Marathon last month and was victorious for the first time in New York after finishing third in 2019.

The warm weather wasn’t ideal for the 50,000 runners who started the 51st edition of the marathon, which was back to full capacity for the first time since the pandemic. Race organizers said that there were nine misting stations on the 26.2-mile (42.2 kilometers) racecourse and there was plenty of water available along the way as well as bananas and energy gels.

There were a couple of celebrities who ran the race, including Ashton Kutcher and Chelsea Clinton, who completed it for a second straight year. Both were running for charity.

Samantha Judge, the wife of New York Yankees’ home run champion Aaron Judge, also ran the marathon. The baseball free agent presented her with her medal when she finished along with Yankees outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton.
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South Korean team DRX were crowned League of Legends world champions on Saturday after scoring a surprise 3-2 victory over compatriots T1 in a thrilling final of the eSports tournament in San Francisco.

T1, the most successful team in eSports history, started as favorites and took the lead in the first round of the competition.

But DRX took command after many upsets, in particular thanks to 19-year-old Kim “Zeka” Geon-woo.

Their win, the team’s first-ever, was highly anticipated for talented 26-year-old Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, who started competing in 2014 but had only made it past the quarterfinals once, also in 2014.

No player so “old” had ever won the world championships until this year.

The final took place at the Chase Center in San Francisco, home to the Golden State Warriors NBA team, in front of some 16,000 spectators.

The League of Legends World Championship is considered one of the most prestigious eSports tournaments. 
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The German version of the television show The Voice had a special guest Saturday on its final episode of the season.

Rana Mansour, an Iranian American singer, performed the protest song For, (Baraye) a song dedicated to Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian woman who died recently after being arrested by Iranian police. Amini was detained for wearing her headscarf “improperly.”

Mansour performed the song in English so that it could be understood by an international audience.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets across Iran since Amini’s death, protesting not only her death, but the restrictions that many, especially women, face in Iran.

At the end of her performance, Mansour held up her fingers in the Victory sign and said, “Woman, life, freedom,” a phrase chanted by Iranian protesters.

Mansour received a standing ovation.
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Yordan Alvarez smashed a three-run homer, and the Houston Astros captured their second World Series in six seasons on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia.

The Cuban slugger’s sixth-inning blast off Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado gave Houston the lead for good as the Astros took Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven championship final four games to two.

“I just tried to stay a little calm and get a good pitch to swing at and that’s what I did,” Alvarez said of his third game-winning playoff homer.

“It was amazing. When I was rounding second base, I felt the whole stadium moving.”

The Astros, in their fourth World Series in six seasons and fifth overall, won their only prior title in 2017, but many MLB fans regard that effort as a tainted crown.

An MLB investigation revealed an electronic sign stealing system by the Astros, who used cameras in 2017 and 2018 to swipe signs from rivals, players and staff banging on drums to signal Houston batters what pitch was coming.

The Astros lost their next two World Series appearances, to Washington in 2019 and Atlanta last year.

But this year’s lineup, including five players from the 2017 roster, delivered a heart-warming title run for the manager who helped the Astros move beyond the scandal, 73-year-old Dusty Baker, the oldest manager in World Series history.

It was the first World Series title as a manager for Baker after 25 seasons as an MLB bench boss, although he won a title as a player with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981.

“He means everything,” Astros star Jose Altuve said of Baker. “He came here at the right time with the right team and won his first World Series.”

Baker, whose 2,093 wins were the most for any manager without a World Series title, took over the Astros in January 2020 after A.J. Hinch was fired in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal and emotions have been high for years over his title quest.

The Phillies, who sought their third World Series crown after 1980 and 2008, had not reached the playoffs since 2011 and hadn’t reached the World Series since 2009.

Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler, game two’s losing pitcher, started against Houston’s Framber Valdez, a Dominican left-hander unbeaten in this year’s playoffs.

Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber blasted a solo home run off Valdez in the sixth, his third homer of the World Series, to open the scoring.

But in the bottom of the sixth, Altuve reached first base on a fielder’s choice and took third on a single by Jeremy Pena, prompting the Phillies to remove Wheeler for Alvarado.

Amazing pitching

Alvarez then made them pay by blasting the ball over the centerfield wall to put the hosts in front.

“I knew as soon as he hit that one it was a big one,” Altuve said. “I thought 3-1 would be a good lead for us to win the ball game.”

Alex Bregman added another run in the sixth when he walked, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a Christian Vazquez single to create the final margin.

Astros relief pitchers allowed only two runs over 18 1/3 innings with 25 strikeouts through the first five games and once again dominated Phillies batters over the final three innings to seal the victory.

“This pitching staff has been amazing all year,” Houston’s Martin Maldonado said. “The bullpen has been really good. We get to them and then adios.”

Pena singled in the fourth inning to become the first rookie with a hit in each of the first six games of a World Series. 
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Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead Saturday at his home in Southern California. He was 34.

Representatives for Carter’s family confirmed the singer’s death. They did not provide any immediate further comment.

Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brother’s boy band, and appeared on the family’s reality series “House of Carters” that aired on E! Entertainment Television.

Deputies responded around 11 a.m. following reports of a medical emergency at the home in Lancaster, a desert city about 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles, said Deputy Alejandra Parra with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Parra said the deputies found a deceased person at the residence, but she could not immediately confirm it was Carter.

Carter’s fiancé, Melanie Martin, asked for privacy as the family grieves.

“We are still in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality,” Martin said in a statement Saturday. “Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.”

Hits included ‘I Want Candy’

Carter opened for the Backstreet Boys tour in 1997 — the same year his gold-selling debut self-titled album was released. He reached triple-platinum status with his sophomore album in 2000, “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It),” which produced hit singles including the title song and “I Want Candy.” His videos received regular airplay on Disney and Nickelodeon.

The singer earned acting credits through his appearance on television shows including “Lizzie McGuire.” He starred alongside his brother, Nick, and their siblings B.J., Leslie and Angel Carter on the E! unscripted series “House of Carters” in 2006.

Music and dancing

Carter made his Broadway debut in 2001 as JoJo in “Who in Seussical the Musical.” In 2009, he appeared on the ABC competition show “Dancing with the Stars,” finishing in fifth place with partner Karina Smirnoff. He was featured on the Food Network cooking show “Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off” in 2012.

In 2017, Carter opened up about his substance abuse on an episode of “The Doctors.” He was in rehab that same year after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and marijuana charges. He checked himself in for treatment on a few occasions in an effort to regain custody of his son Prince.

Carter’s fifth and final studio album, “LOVE,” was released in 2018.
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An ancient Christian monastery possibly dating as far back as the years before Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula has been discovered on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, officials announced Thursday.

The monastery on Siniyah Island, part of the sand-dune sheikhdom of Umm al-Quwain, sheds new light on the history of early Christianity along the shores of the Persian Gulf. It marks the second such monastery found in the Emirates, dating back as many as 1,400 years — long before its desert expanses gave birth to a thriving oil industry that led to a unified nation home to the high-rise towers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The two monasteries became lost to history in the sands of time as scholars believe Christians slowly converted to Islam as that faith grew more prevalent in the region.

Today, Christians remain a minority across the wider Middle East, though Pope Francis arrived in nearby Bahrain on Thursday to promote interfaith dialogue with Muslim leaders.

For Timothy Power, an associate professor of archaeology at the United Arab Emirates University who helped investigate the newly discovered monastery, the UAE today is a “melting pot of nations.”

“The fact that something similar was happening here a 1,000 years ago is really remarkable and this is a story that deserves to be told,” he said.

The monastery sits on Siniyah Island, which shields the Khor al-Beida marshlands in Umm al-Quwain, an emirate some 50 kilometers northeast of Dubai along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The island, whose name means “flashing lights” likely due to the effect of the white-hot sun overhead, has a series of sandbars coming off of it like crooked fingers. On one, to the island’s northeast, archaeologists discovered the monastery.

Carbon dating of samples found in the monastery’s foundation date between 534 and 656. Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was born around 570 and died in 632 after conquering Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia.

Viewed from above, the monastery on Siniyah Island’s floor plan suggests early Christian worshippers prayed within a single-aisle church at the monastery. Rooms within appear to hold a baptismal font, as well as an oven for baking bread or wafers for communion rites. A nave also likely held an altar and an installation for Communion wine.

Next to the monastery sits a second building with four rooms, likely around a courtyard — possibly the home of an abbot or even a bishop in the early church.

On Thursday, the site saw a visit from Noura bint Mohammed al-Kaabi, the country’s culture and youth minister, as well as Sheikh Majid bin Saud Al Mualla, the chairman of the Umm al-Quwain’s Tourism and Archaeology Department and a son of the emirate’s ruler.

The island remains part of the ruling family’s holdings, protecting the land for years to allow the historical sites to be found as much of the UAE has rapidly developed.

The UAE’s Culture Ministry has sponsored the dig in part, which continues at the site. Just hundreds of meters away from the church, a collection of buildings that archaeologists believe belongs to a pre-Islamic village sit.

Elsewhere on the island, piles of tossed-aside clams from pearl hunting make for massive, industrial-sized hills. Nearby also sits a village that the British blew up in 1820 before the region became part of what was known as the Trucial States, the precursor of the UAE. That village’s destruction brought about the creation of the modern-day settlement of Umm al-Quwain on the mainland.

Historians say early churches and monasteries spread along the Persian Gulf to the coasts of present-day Oman and all the way to India. Archaeologist have found other similar churches and monasteries in Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

In the early 1990s, archaeologists discovered the first Christian monastery in the UAE, on Sir Bani Yas Island, today a nature preserve and site of luxury hotels off the coast of Abu Dhabi, near the Saudi border. It similarly dates back to the same period as the new find in Umm al-Quwain.

However, evidence of early life along the Khor al-Beida marshlands in Umm al-Quwain dates as far back as the Neolithic period — suggesting continuous human inhabitance in the area for at least 10,000 years, Power said.

Today, the area near the marshland is more known for the low-cost liquor store at the emirate’s Barracuda Beach Resort. In recent months, authorities have demolished a hulking, Soviet-era cargo plane linked to a Russian gunrunner known as the “Merchant of Death” as it builds a bridge to Siniyah Island for a $675 million real estate development.

Power said that development spurred the archaeological work that discovered the monastery. That site and others will be fenced off and protected, he said, though it remains unclear what other secrets of the past remain hidden just under a thin layer of sand on the island.

“It’s a really fascinating discovery because in some ways it’s hidden history — it’s not something that’s widely known,” Power said.
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The movies have returned to Indian-administered Kashmir after an absence of more than three decades.

A new multiplex cinema, INOX Srinagar, lit up its three screens for the first time on September 30, almost 33 years after all of the region’s theaters shut down in the face of a campaign by armed militants opposed to cinemas, beauty parlors and liquor shops.

Even today, the threat of violence remains high for the several dozen theatergoers who visit the multiplex each day, seeking a novel experience in the case of the younger generation or, in the case of their elders, a nostalgic reminder of times past.

Would-be patrons must pass through a tight security cordon, having their cars checked by a rifle-bearing policeman, and then being frisked at the main gate before entering the theater. An armored truck with at least a dozen policemen is stationed near the entry gate, and an elevated security tower stands next to the ticket counter.

The Kashmir Valley boasted some 15 movie theaters until 1989, when militants opposed to Indian rule in the region demanded their closure. All were shut down on January 1, 1990.

Some were turned into malls, some into hospitals, and some into bunkers now occupied by Indian paramilitary forces. Several, subjected to grenade or firebomb attacks, are nothing more than piles of bricks. A few short-lived attempts to reopen theaters since 1990 failed in the face of heavy security and militant threats.

None of that history has dampened the enthusiasm of INOX Srinagar owner Vikas Dhar, whose family has owned movie theaters in Srinagar since the 1960s. He told VOA that for him, the opening of his multiplex marks the realization of a dream.

So far attendance has been sparse, with a little more than 5,000 patrons visiting the 524-seat complex in its first month of operation. But Dhar is already looking ahead.

“It is not a big figure, but it will increase with the passage of time when people will come out of their houses without being afraid of anyone,” he said.

“We are planning to provide a wholesome entertainment for the entire family, and it requires more development,” Dhar continued. “The launch of multiplex is generating interest among people and will surely increase in the near future. We are also thinking of developing a play area for children and food court for the adults next year.”

A peek at the past

For Mahjabeen Ashai, a homemaker in her early 60s, a visit to the cinema brought back the past. “Though hard but I visited INOX Srinagar just to recollect memories of old times when I used to watch movies in halls with my husband,” she told VOA.

But for a younger generation of Kashmiris who have never visited a movie theater, there is the question of why they should put up with the security risks when they can enjoy the same films in their own homes on streaming video – commonly referred to in the region as OTT (Over The Top).

“I like watching stuff from the comfort of my home,” said Tayba Gulnar, a 27-year-old lawyer. “Almost all of us have big TV screens with OTT subscriptions at home. Cinema is a public place and is different from what it used to be 10-15 years ago.

“Why should I go to the cinema to watch a movie?” she asked. “I would only watch an animated movie in cinema, if I ever go there.”

But Dhar is convinced that even younger Kashmiris will learn to appreciate the unique experience of watching a film in a cinema. He said that movies such as “Avatar” and “Avengers” with their dramatic special effects can only be fully enjoyed on the big screen.

Dhar’s optimism is shared by Manmohan Singh Gauri, whose Palladium Cinema was perhaps the best-known theater in the region before shutting down with the others at the beginning of 1990. India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was photographed shaking hands in front of the theater with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, then prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir, not long after independence from Britain.

Gauri told VOA that he hopes to open his own two-screen multiplex if he is granted permission by the government. He said he expects his bid could make a big impact, adding that the return of cinema to the valley can give younger Kashmiris access to more information about what is happening around the world.

Despite the strict security measures, the threat of violence remains a concern; just in the past week four militants were killed in twin encounters with Indian forces in Kashmir.

But Dhar said he is taking steps to keep his patrons safe. “At present we are running three to four shows in a day and don’t have any plans for late evening shows,” he said.
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Migos rapper Takeoff is dead after a shooting early Tuesday outside a bowling alley in Houston, a representative confirmed. He was 28. 

Takeoff — whose name was Kirsnick Khari Ball — was part of Migos along with Quavo and Offset. A representative for Migos, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to The Associated Press that Takeoff had died. 

Police responded shortly after 2:30 a.m. to reports of a shooting at 810 Billiards & Bowling, where dozens of people had gathered on a balcony outside of the bowling alley, which is on the third floor, police said. Officers discovered one man dead when they arrived. 

Security guards who were in the area heard the shooting but did not see who did it, a police spokesperson said. Two other people were injured and taken to hospitals in private vehicles. 

No arrests have been announced. 

The Grammy-nominated rap trio from Georgia have had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including their multi-week No. 1 “Bad and Boujee” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. They put out a trilogy of albums called “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III,” with the first two albums hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. 

They earned an ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2018, for their streaming success with multiplatinum songs like “Motorsport (featuring Cardi B and Nicki Minaj),” “Stir Fry,” and “Walk It Talk It.” 

They also played a fictional version of themselves on an episode of the hit TV show “Atlanta.” 

Offset, who is married to Cardi B, released a solo album in 2019, while Takeoff and Quavo released a joint album “Only Built for Infinity Links” last month. 

 
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The international market for Native American fashion is growing. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns caught up with Indigenous designers at a Native American fashion show in the Western U.S. state of Colorado. Videographer: Scott Stearns, Jodi Westrum
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During the Day of the Dead celebrations that take place in late October and early November in Mexico, the living remember and honor their dearly departed, but with celebration — not sorrow.

Marigolds decorate the streets as music blares from speakers. Adults and children alike dress as skeletons and take photos, capturing the annual joy-filled festivities. It is believed that during the Day of the Dead — or Dia de Muertos — they are able to commune with their deceased loved ones.

No one knows when the first observance took place, but it is rooted in agriculture-related beliefs from Mexico’s pre-Hispanic era, said Andrés Medina, a researcher at the Anthropological Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Catholic traditions were incorporated into the celebration after the Spanish conquest in 1521.

“In that mythology, the corn is buried when it’s planted and leads an underground life for a period to later reappear as a plant,” Medina said. The grain of corn is seen as a seed, comparable to a bone, which is seen as the origin of life.

Today, skeletons are central to Day of the Dead celebrations, symbolizing the return of the bones to the living world. Like seeds planted under soil, the dead disappear temporarily only to return each year like the annual harvest.

Altars are core to the observance as well. Families place photographs of their ancestors on their home altars, which include decorations cut out of paper and candles. They also are adorned with offerings of items once beloved by those now gone. It could include cigars, a bottle of mezcal or a plate of mole, tortillas and chocolates.

Traditional altars can be adorned in a pattern representative of a Mesoamerican view that the world had levels, Medina said. But not everyone follows — or knows — this method.

“To the extent that Indigenous languages have been lost, the meaning (of the altar) has been lost as well, so people do it intuitively,” he said. “Where the Indigenous languages have been maintained, the tradition is still alive.”

The way Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead continues to evolve.

Typically, it is an intimate family tradition observed with home altars and visits to local cemeteries to decorate graves with flowers and sugar skulls. They bring their deceased loved ones’ favorite food and hire musicians to perform their favorite songs.

“Nowadays there’s an influence of American Halloween in the celebration,” Medina said. “These elements carry a new meaning in the context of the original meaning of the festival, which is to celebrate the dead. To celebrate life.”

In 2016, the government started a popular annual parade in Mexico City that concludes in a main square featuring altars built by artisans from across the country. The roughly three-hour-long affair features one of the holiday’s most iconic characters, Catrinas. The female skeleton is dressed in elegant clothes inspired by the engravings of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican artist who drew satirical cartoons at the beginning of the 20th century.

On Friday afternoon in the capital city, Paola Valencia, 30, walked through the main square looking at some of the altars and explained her appreciation for the holiday: “I love this tradition because it reminds me that they (the dead) are still among us.”

Originally from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, she said the residents of her hometown, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, take a lot of time to build large altars each year. They are a source of pride for the whole community.

“Sometimes I feel like crying. Our altars show who we are. We are very traditional, and we love to feel that they (the dead) will be with us at least once a year,” she said.
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