MEXICO CITY (EFE).- The work and life of Spanish surrealism genius Salvador Dali, who died 21 years ago, is being remembered in the southeastern Mexican city of Merida with an exhibition of 93 of the artist's engravings.

"Dali en Merida. Las miradas del sueño" (Dali in Merida: Views of a Dream) will be held at Merida's Olimpo Cultural Center, where the public will be able to enter free until March 23, municipal culture director Roger Metri told Efe.

Present at the ceremony to open the exhibit on Saturday were Merida Mayor Cesar Bojorquez Zapata and the director of the Museo de Artes del Grabado a la Estampa Digital in La Coruña, Rocio Hermo, among other figures, Metri said.

The works come from the artistic collection of the La Coruña art museum's foundation, an organization that is collaborating with the Merida city authorities to sponsor the exhibition.

The show is divided into three sections: "The Divine Comedy," comprised of 56 pieces that Dali prepared for the Italian Parliament in 1960, all of which were inspired by the writings of Dante Alighieri; "Fables of La Fontaine," with 12 works prepared in 1974; and "The capricious dreams of Pantagruel de Rabelais," containing 25 fanciful pieces created in 1973.

Last year, the Olimpo Cultural Center hosted the work of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in an exhibit titled "Picasso, multiple beauty," which attracted 65,000 visitors, and his countryman Francisco de Goya in the exhibit "Goya in Merida, the monsters of Reason," attended by 40,500 people.

The organizers of "Dali in Merida" hope to exceed the number of visitors attending the previous two exhibits.

Simultaneously, courses on engraving, along with lectures, guided tours and the "Buñuel y Dali" film series will be offered to the public.

The city of Merida spent 1.2 million pesos ($96,000) to set up the exhibition. EFE