IT'S Liverpool versus Mexico in a deadly face off with legions being enlisted to do battle.
More than 1,000 people are being asked to put on their best skull-like face and head for St George's Hall at the end of this month.
No it's not a casting call for a model agency but a world record attempt to put The Walking Dead to shame.
The call comes from iVAMOS!, the big festival of Mexicana which is coming to the banks of the Mersey for the first time this year after 10 successful years on the Geordie shores of Newcastle.
Its reps/PR people were in town yesterday for a photo op to remind Liverpudlians to get down in their droves to St George’s Plateau on October 31, made-up as their finest Catrinas or Catrines (the popular Mexican skull painted faces) so a world-record attempt for the largest single gathering can be made.
Backed by by Arts Council England, Instituto Cervantes and the Government of Mexico as part of the Year of Mexico in UK 2015, iVAMOS! is a bit more than a commercial tequila swilling opportunity. It combines cuisine, art, film, theatre, dance, music, literature, fashion, sport and education.
The unfolding programme of events, which runs from the end of the month until January, is not entirely finalised, but it's looking good and promises the city will become host to the largest concentration of Latin American communities outside London.
To kick things off on Halloween, Festival Director Nik Barerra said: “We’re calling on the people of Merseyside to get dressed up as Catrinas or Catrines in an attempt to break the world-record – and we’ll be competing against two other world-attempts, one in Mexico itself.”
The current world record for the largest gathering was achieved by 509 participants in an event organised by La Catrina Fest MX (Mexico) in Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, on November 1, 2014.
Organisers are asking for many people as possible to turn up in full costume and makeup at St George’s Plateau although there will be make-up artists available from 1pm to help out.
Catrinas and Catrines must be dressed according to rules set out by the Guinness Book of Records with full Calavera makeup – full details and examples can be found here. If you do it crap you will be disqualified.
Organisers have asked people to congregate promptly at 4pm, so everyone can be arranged by 5pm.
Between 5.15 and 5.45pm – The Guinness World Record attempt will take place and between 5.45 and 6pm – a mass Piñata bash will take place.
The Piñata will be supplied by Wahaca Mexican Street Food chain, who are opening a Wahaca branch in Liverpool One this coming November and will contain lots of Wahaca goodies and vouchers.
iVAMOS!’s schedule of events includes exhibitions of world-famous Mexican husband and wife artists Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera and the first UK exhibition of internationally renowned Mexican fashion designer Manuel Cuevas - whose clothes have dressed everyone from The Beatles to Dolly Parton.
Events to be announced in the coming weeks and months includw Liverpool/Mexico focused visual art and fashion commissions, Mexican craft activities and music.
In the meantime, tickets for what looks like one of the hottest Halloween parties in town, the iVAMOS! Day of the Dead Extravaganza, Saturday October 31, at St George's Hall, are on sale priced £10 early bird and £14 advance here: and here
You can find out more about ¡VAMOS! Festival, artists and events at www.vamosfestival.com
