Discón Zombión (Día de Muertos)

From Todos Santos, the dead return—not to haunt, but to host. A guided tour of the underworld, marigold static, and all saints accounted for. Discón Zombión: a broadcast from the other side.

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Inspiration

Built in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, this episode draws from the town’s quiet surrealism and ritual density. The idea was simple: what if the dead returned—not to haunt, but to host? The piece plays with the aesthetics of spiritual tourism, regional bureaucracy, and the dry absurdity of Mexican holiday culture. I spend a lot of time in the town of Todos Santos.

What it does

This is a satirical Día de Muertos commercial delivered entirely in Mexican Spanish. Two Catrinas guide a surreal underworld tour with a joke, stylized decay, and a closing dance sequence featuring saints. It parodies Baja California Sur’s cultural quirks while staying grounded in regional texture and tonal control.

How we built it

AI-generated visuals via OpenArt AI and Runway AI, combined with hand-tuned animation and manual scripting. Dialogue was written in Mexican Spanish. Editing focused on rhythm, timing of the joke, and tonal clarity.

Challenges we ran into

Most challenges came from prompt fidelity. Some scenes didn’t produce what was asked for—gestures failed, costumes drifted, or tone collapsed. We also wasted a significant number of credits on lip-synching attempts that didn’t align. Visual consistency required constant prompt tuning and manual correction.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This was the first Discón Zombión release to gain significant traction on TikTok. It tripled our follower count and became the most shared and most liked piece in the series. Until now, we’d focused mostly on Instagram—this release showed that Mexican TikTok responds to cultural humor and regional parody. It also proved that short-form AI-built satire can travel farther than expected.

What we learned

This release taught us how cultural humor moves. Mexican audiences on TikTok responded to the bait-and-switch joke, the stylized parody of Baja California Sur, and the dry delivery in Mexican Spanish. We learned how to tune AI outputs for regional texture. It also made us think about revisiting earlier videos with strong cultural hooks—we’re now planning to reshoot a piece about the dangers of driving in Mexico, reimagined through a different genre, using different AI models and techniques. One of my new followers suggested that we follow up with this video to explain the history behind Day of the Dead. Perhaps in the style of a telenovela?

What's next for Discón Zombión

We’ll continue releasing more episodes with different topics and genres. Each one will explore a new angle—whether it’s genre, ritual, or regional satire. The Día de Muertos special opened up a new axis: cultural humor built with AI and animation. We are currently working on an English episode based in 1980s London.

Built With

  • openart
  • runway
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