Dozens of hot air balloons decorated the sky in central Mexico on Monday (November 19) with an array of colors and shapes, ranging from the traditional teardrop to butterflies, bees and even Elvis.

Pilots fired up their balloons carrying them high above the Metropolitan Ecological Park of Leon in the 11th annual Leon International Balloon Festival.

People came from all over for the event. Peter Pierre is from Fresno, California.

"This is my 10th year flying at Globo, I flew at the very first one and it's been fantastic. We have a lot of 'amigos' that we have met down here. The people have been great, we are very happy to come down and fly. As you can see the beautiful sky with all of the balloons, it's always real good flying here, we really enjoy it," he said.

Over the past decade, the festival has brought together almost two million people.

The festival's director said the festival sought to attract tourism to the industrial city of Leon, which is known primarily for selling leather goods and shoes.