Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico

Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead is a long-term self-assigned photography essay. The cultural celebration of this holiday has its roots in the Catholic Holy Days of All Saints and All Souls days. The mixture of traditions, and the evolution of the days into an enjoyable event, which today also mixes with Halloween in the Southwest of the United States and across Mexico. The images here are from the annual celebrations in Oaxaca, Mexico in the South of the country. Though mostly a day off celebrations, there is the unusual circumstance of an actual funeral being held on November 1 or 2. The grief and outpouring of emotions leads this series, as a woman mourns her mother in the Central Pantleón in Ciudad Oaxaca. This is opposite the emotions of a man and woman sharing a kiss at the same cemetery hours later. Dia de los Muertos is also known for the elaborate make-up which people take on. Here we see an artist preparing a woman, while a youngster dances, a couple creating a "selfie" and "Catrina" in another cemetery in the suburbs of Oaxaca. The days are usually filled with picnics and cleaning of the burial grounds, altars of celebration and music filling the air.