Mexico City (CNN) Under a piercing sun and the watchful gaze of the Angel of Independence monument, protestors in Mexico City chanted, "Love, not hate, makes America great."

Organized by a coalition of women's groups in solidarity with the Women's March on Washington, US and Mexican citizens came together to form a human wall along the capital's central thoroughfare, Paseo de la Reforma, shutting the city's main artery for around an hour and tapping into the tradition of Mexican independence and civil protest.

The demonstration spilled out from the sidewalk in front of the US embassy, where protesters stood behind tall metal barricades several dozen feet away from the building, listening to songs of social change like Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" and John Lennon's "Imagine." The demonstrators held signs with anti-Trump messages including, "We won't let Trump's wrongs deny our rights," and "Abort unwanted presidencies." The event had a festival-like, family and dog-friendly atmosphere, with minimal police presence.

Christopher Perri, a resident of Mexico City who moved from Philadelphia, struggled to find the words to describe what it feels like to be a US citizen in Mexico now that President Donald Trump has taken office.

"It's a little strange to have this kind of shame and lack of pride for what direction the United States is heading," Perri said.

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