Mexico/Oaxaca/Huautla de Jimenez

Day of the Dead celebrations are held in veneration of the dead from sunset until sunrise the following day with candlelight in the cemetery. The Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), recently declared by UNESCO as an “oral and intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” is one of Mexico’s most cherished traditions, celebrated in cities and villages countrywide. Far away from more well-traveled tourist routes, in a Sierrra Madre mountain village near Oaxaca, women speak quietly with beloved departed souls at graves adorned with offerings of food, candies, liquor, cigarettes, evertything their dead enjoyed while alive. In Huautla de Jimenez local Mazatec Indians still meet their long-gone friends and family in the graveyard, celebrating along with Huehuetones, mysterious masked figures representing the visiting souls from the Underworld.

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Copyright: @ enrico martino
Image Size: 6348x4214 / 14.5MB; Holy american indians boy candles cemetery ceremonies children christian cultures death rituals faith families family father grave graveyard heritage latin america lighting north america pray soul spice souq spiritual tradition traditional traditional dress worship
Contained in galleries: Mexico-The Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead celebrations are held in veneration of the dead from sunset until sunrise the following day with candlelight in the cemetery. The Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), recently declared by UNESCO as an “oral and intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” is one of Mexico’s most cherished traditions, celebrated in cities and villages countrywide. Far away from more well-traveled tourist routes, in a Sierrra Madre mountain village near Oaxaca, women speak quietly with beloved departed souls at graves adorned with offerings of food, candies, liquor, cigarettes, evertything their dead enjoyed while alive. In Huautla de Jimenez local Mazatec Indians still meet their long-gone friends and family in the graveyard, celebrating along with Huehuetones, mysterious masked figures representing the visiting souls from the Underworld.