Photos of the 'Day of the Dead' Tradition

En español | The Day of the Dead is a colorful, poignant tradition in Mexico, Latin America and now the United States. Families honor deceased loved ones with elaborate altars, processions and symbolic breads and confections, briefly blurring the lines between this world and the next. The celebration runs Oct. 31   to Nov. 2.

East Los Angeles claims the nation’s oldest community-based Day of the Dead event. On Nov. 2, a traditional blessing, procession of paper maché skeletons and skulls, and mask-making lessons will reflect the 2012 theme, Recuerdos Que Nunca Mueren. Art workshops run until Dec. 1.

San Francisco residents continue their 30-year tradition of honoring loved ones on Nov. 2 with a Festival of Altars at Garfield Park. Community members bring photos, flowers, candles and food to place on a large altar for the departed. A procession, music and art exhibits add to the celebration.

Ofrendas (offerings) such as marigolds and beans cover altars during Day of the Dead. South Florida’s festival on Nov. 2 offers a skeleton procession from downtown Fort Lauderdale to the FAT Village Arts District. There you’ll find an altar, craft exhibits and music. Learn to make sugar skulls in October.

Fernando Castro Pacheco, The Offering-Hanal Pixan / La Ofrenda-Hanal Pixan, 1975, oil on canvas, 50 1/8” x 70 1/2”, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán.

If dressing as a skeleton isn’t your style, try a visit to Chicago’s Day of the Dead exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art. The exhibit, Hanal Pixan (Mayan for “food for the souls”), features altars and works such as Fernando Castro Pacheco’s La Ofrenda-Hanal Pixan, until Dec. 16. 

North of Denver, the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center holds Colorado’s largest Day of the Dead event. An interpretive section explains symbols such as marigolds, sugar skulls and ceremonial altars. They celebrate Oct. 5 to Nov. 5, with a Day of the Dead Family Celebration on Oct. 27.

In New York, learn to create traditional paper crafts and write poetry in English, Nahuatl, Mixteco and Spanish during the Day of the Dead celebration in St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery’s churchyard Nov. 1 - 4. You can also join a procession and blessing at Union Square Park.

Children work on displays at a Mano a Mano workshop in New York.

Houston’s Lawndale Art Center’s Day of the Dead festivities include exhibits, papel picado and workshops on making sugar skulls like those shown here. A gala and silent auction raise funds for the center by selling Day of the Dead altars donated by Texas artists. Visit the center from Oct. 25 to Nov. 10.

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