The visuals behind celebrations for the Day of the Dead are dazzling, but its rich traditions are just as fascinating.
Young women in face paint celebrate the Day of the Dead in Hidalgo, Mexico.Chris Jackson/Getty Images A girl in costume on the Day of the Dead in Hidalgo, Mexico. Chris Jackson/Getty Images Mexican statues for the Day of the Dead at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images An altar to the dead in front of the Fine Arts Palace in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead.ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images A girl in costume on the Day of the Dead in Hidalgo, Mexico.Chris Jackson/Getty Images People gather by giant kites made by residents of Sumpango, Guatemala during the Day of the Dead.JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images A man poses for pictures with skulls made of cardboard placed on an altar next to the San Francisco church in Mexico City during the celebration of All Souls' Day.YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images Revelers dance during a El Dia Muertos party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazilians often mark the traditional Mexican holiday by visiting loved ones' graves and sometimes leaving offerings of food or drink.Mario Tama/Getty Images An actor dons the disguise of "La Llorona," a character of the performance "Legends of Guatemala" at an All Saints' Day celebration in the Cerrito del Carmen neighborhood of Guatemala city.JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images A costumed couple pose at San Jeronimo Chicahualco cemetery in Metepec, Mexico during the commemoration of the Day of the Dead.MARIO VAZQUEZ/AFP/Getty Images Revelers pose during a Day of the Dead party on November 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Mario Tama/Getty Images The faithful participate in a ceremony at the San Javier cemetery in the Comuna 13 shantytown in Medellin, Colombia during the celebration of All Saints' Day.RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images A woman photographs an altar display during a traditional Mexican celebration of "Noche de Ofrenda" (Night of the Altars) in downtown Los Angeles, a week before the Day of the Dead celebration on November 1. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images A man walks next to a mural in Tixtla, Guerrero State, Mexico, during the celebration of All Souls' Day.PEDRO PARDO/AFP/Getty Images A person takes part in the traditional Afro-Mexican Dance of the Devils in Cuajinicuilapa, Mexico. The Dance of the Devils is celebrated annually on the Day of the Dead.Pedro PARDO/AFP/Getty Images Families decorate a relative's grave with flowers at a cemetery in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan State, Mexico during the commemoration of Mexico's All Saints' Day.ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images A reveler poses during a Day of the Dead party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mario Tama/Getty Images Families decorate a relative's grave with flowers at a cemetery in Tzintzuntzan, Mexico during the commemoration of Mexico's All Saints' Day. ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images A family gathers around a grave of a loved one to celebrate All Saints' Day at Nueva Esperanza cemetery in Villa Maria del Triunfo, Peru. Once an illegal burial ground, Nueva Esperanza is believed to be now Latin America's largest cemetery, with thousands buried on the slopes of the hills.CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP/Getty Images A man and his daughter remain at the municipal cemetery of Santa Catarina Pinula in Guatemala during the celebration of All Saints' Day.JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images Revelers play music during a Day of the Dead party on November 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Mario Tama/Getty Images A reveler plays music during a Day of the Dead party on November 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Mario Tama/Getty Images Mexican Damas rehearse in their costumes for the upcoming Day of the Dead festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Mexican Damas rehearse in their costumes for the upcoming festival of Dia de los Muertos at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images View of a majestic death altar dedicated to knowledge and to Mexican poet sister Juana Ines de la Cruz set up in Mexico City as part of the traditional Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico.OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images A Colombian indigenous woman of the Misak ethnic group lights a candle as she takes part in an offering ceremony at Our Lady of Chiquinquira church in Silvia, Colombia during the celebration of All Saints' Day. LUIS ROBAYO/AFP/Getty Images Mexican Damas rehearse in their costumes for the upcoming festival of the Day of the Dead at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images The Mariachi Divas perform before the upcoming Day of the Dead festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images A girl in costume on the Day of the Dead in Hidalgo, Mexico. Chris Jackson/Getty Images A participant prepares to march in an All Saints' Day parade, the day before the Day of the Dead in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Mario Tama/Getty Images A reveler places a candle during a Day of the Dead party in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Mario Tama/Getty Images A child with a Halloween pumpkin among the decorated graves at a cemetery in Tzintzuntzan, Mexico during the commemoration of Mexico's All Saints' Day.ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images Two girls disguised as "Catrina" wait during the celebration of the Day of Dead in Guadalajara. La Catrina is the Mexican representation of the dead created by the Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada.HECTOR GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images
The Day of The Dead’s Rich Traditions In 33 Dazzling Photos View GalleryFor many, the colorful skeletons seen at the end of October immediately call to mind Mexico and the "Day of the Dead," but in truth El Dia Muertos, known in English as the Day of the Dead, is just one part of a multi-day celebration that takes place throughout Latin America.
El Día de los Muertos -- "the Day of the Dead" -- marks the end of a three-day celebration which starts on October 31 with All Hallows' Eve, proceeds to the Day of the Innocents, and concludes with the Day of the Dead on November 2.
On that day, families honor the departed by creating honorary altars at home before venturing out to clean the graves of relatives and friends. There, they'll also decorate these graves with flowers, candles, and photos, read poems and recount stories, and leave offerings of food and drink by the tombstones.
It's no coincidence that this event falls on All Souls' Day, the Christian day of remembrance for the dead. Indeed, the Day of the Dead is the product of mestizo culture, or the blending of indigenous, Mexican and Spanish cultural elements. In this case, Day of the Dead combines the region's ancient Aztec traditions with the Catholic rituals that Spanish conquistadors brought across the Atlantic starting in the 15th century.
The 3,000-year-old Aztec tradition in question is a festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, who was Christianized over the years and eventually became the modern La Calavera Catrina, the "Lady of the Dead."
Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada etched La Calavera Catrina to life in the early 20th century -- and did not do so with reverence in mind. Indeed, Posada created the satirical drawing to criticize what he saw as a new form of mestizo culture: Mexicans whom he viewed had begun adopting the styles of aristocratic Europeans.
Today, things have come full circle as many Latin Americans feel that the growing popularity of La Calavera Catrina-style makeup on Halloween elsewhere around the world smacks of cultural appropriation. What for many Latin Americans is a meaningful commemoration of the departed has been reduced by some to mere makeup.
In other words, it's not a costume — it's a culture.
See what the Day of the Dead looks like for yourself in the photos above.
Next, find out why everything you know about Cinco de Mayo is wrong. Then, check out creepy vintage Halloween costumes sure to give you nightmares.
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