Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Pictures of Día de los Muertos around the world
A woman dressed as Catrina takes part in the traditional Convite de fieros festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala, on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Death may not take a holiday but it does take a selfie. A man is dressed up for an exhibition of altars organized by the Historic Centre Foundation for Day of the Dead in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A devotee pretending to be the spirit known as a Gede looks on during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
A girl takes flowers to the grave of a loved one during the commemoration of the day of the dead at a cemetery in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
Indian Catholic nuns offer prayers at the graves of deceased sisters at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman paints a girl's face for Día de los Muertos.
(
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against femicides in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit a cemetery to pay respects to their ancestors on All Saints Day in the northern Slovakian village of Bobrovec on November 1, 2016.
(
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit Los Rosales cemetery during the Day of the Dead in Chimalhuacan, Mexico on November 2, 2016.
(
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
)
A Día de los Muertos altar in Grand Park.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
A woman looks at tombstones at a public cemetery on November 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines.
(
Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
)
A devotee pretending to be the spirit known as a Gede smiles during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
A cardboard skull at the exhibition and contest of altars organized by the Historic Centre Foundation in the framework of the Day of the Dead, in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A reveler dressed as a drug trafficker takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A typical Altar of the Dead is seen at San Francisco Cemetery in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
)
A devotee pretending to be the spirit known as a Gede looks on with clothes pins piercing his skin during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
This Día de Los Muertos alter in Grand Park titled "Los Angeles de Pueblo" pays tribute to the rise of Chicano identity.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
A reveler takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Revelers dressed as Argentinian football player Lionel Messi and Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo take part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A reveler dressed as a drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera aka "El Chapo" takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Revelers dressed as clowns take part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A reveler with a Guy Fawkes mask takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A devotee dances in a trance during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man passes next to fake giant skeletons placed in an altar in front of the Fine Arts Palace for Day of the Dead in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
This Día de Los Muertos alter in Grand Park titled "Life not Toys" is dedicated to all children of war-torn regions.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
Women with crosses protest against femicides in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man with his face painted arrives at Dolores cemetery during All Saints Day in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
)
Part of Disneyland's Day of the Dead decor, October 2008.
(
Photo by juliewolfson306/Flickr (Creative Commons)
)
Revelers in Los Angeles celebrate Día de los Muertos.
(
Photo by Rob Sheridan via Flickr Creative Commons
)
A girl dressed as Catrina is seen during a protest against femicides in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Revelers celebrate Día de Los Muertos at the Museum of Latin American Art.
(
Courtesy of the Museum of Latin American Art
)
Two young women in costumes pass through graves at the San Francisco Cemetery in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
)
Tonatzin Cortes and Iyelitzin Cortes wear costumes during a visit to their relative's graves at the San Francisco Cemetery in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman visits the grave of a loved one in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit the graves of their loved ones, during the commemoration of the day of the dead at a cemetery in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man makes improvements to the grave of a loved one during the commemoration of the day of the dead at a cemetery in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
A sugar skull for Día de los Muertos.
(
Photo by Alex Barth via Flickr Creative Commons
)
Indian Catholic nuns decorates the graves of deceased sisters at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
Indian Catholics offer prayers at the graves of their family members at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
An Indian Catholic girl decorates the grave of a deceased family member at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
Graves at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris on All Saints Day, November 1, 2016.
(
PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A couple celebrates Dia de los Muertos at the Concordia Cemetery.
(
Stacy Kendrick
)
This Día de Los Muertos altar in Grand Park titled "Remembered in Paint" is dedicated to outlaw artists.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
This Día de los Muertos altar in Grand Park, titled "For the Homies," is dedicated to male and female gang members who turned their lives around, often through Homeboy Industries.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
People adorn the resting place of relatives at the municipal cemetery of Villa Nueva, Guatemala during All Saints Day on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man climbs on a ladder to reach a tombstone at a public cemetery on November 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. In the Philippines, family members clean tombs and often spend the night at the cemetery eating and celebrating with loved ones.
(
Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
)
Filipinos flock to cemeteries around the country to visit departed relatives and loved ones as they mark All Saints Day on November 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines.
(
Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
)
People attend to the graves of loved ones on the eve of the Day of the Dead at the cemetery of Tzintzuntzan in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico on November 1, 2016.
(
ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman attends to the grave of a loved one on the eve of the Day of the Dead at the cemetery of Tzintzuntzan in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico on November 1, 2016.
(
ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit a cemetery to pay respects to their ancestors on All Saints Day in the northern Slovakian village of Bobrovec on November 1, 2016.
(
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
)
Here in Los Angeles, we love Día de los Muertos. The decorated altars, the painted faces, the sugar skulls. But what about everywhere else?
Around the world, the Day of the Dead is honored in a variety of ways, from somber to festive.
Generally celebrated on Nov. 1, the holiday is also known as All Saints Day or All Souls Day, a minor event on the Catholic calendar.
Death may not take a holiday but it does take a selfie. A man is dressed up for an exhibition of altars organized by the Historic Centre Foundation for Day of the Dead in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Support for LAist comes from
Most Day of the Dead traditions involve honoring dead ancestors.
People will often make pilgrimages to spiff up their dead relatives' graves. In the Philippines, family members will often spend the night at the cemetery, eating and celebrating with loved ones.
Día de los Muertos, as Angelenos might know it, is widely celebrated throughout Latin America but originated in Mexico, according to the National Geographic, as a mix of indigenous Aztec rituals and Catholic practices
Here in L.A., those traditions take on a new life, with altars that pay tribute to the sacred, the profane, the personal, the political and everything in between.
A devotee pretending to be the spirit known as a Gede looks on during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
A girl takes flowers to the grave of a loved one during the commemoration of the day of the dead at a cemetery in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
Indian Catholic nuns offer prayers at the graves of deceased sisters at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
Support for LAist comes from
A woman paints a girl's face for Dia de los Muertos.
(
GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against femicides in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit a cemetery to pay respects to their ancestors on All Saints Day in the northern Slovakian village of Bobrovec on November 1, 2016.
(
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit Los Rosales cemetery during the Day of the Dead in Chimalhuacan, Mexico on November 2, 2016.
(
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
)
A Dia de los Muertos altar in Grand Park.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
A woman looks at tombstones at a public cemetery on November 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines.
(
Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
)
A devotee pretending to be the spirit known as a Gede smiles during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
Support for LAist comes from
A cardboard skull at the exhibition and contest of altars organized by the Historic Centre Foundation in the framework of the Day of the Dead, in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A reveler dressed as a drug trafficker takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A typical Altar of the Dead is seen at San Francisco Cemetery in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
)
A devotee pretending to be the spirit known as a Gede looks on with clothes pins piercing his skin during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
This Dia de Los Muertos alter in Grand Park titled "Los Angeles de Pueblo" pays tribute to the rise of Chicano identity.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
A reveler takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Revelers dressed as Argentinian football player Lionel Messi and Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo take part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Support for LAist comes from
A reveler dressed as a drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera aka "El Chapo" takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Revelers dressed as clowns take part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A reveler with a Guy Fawkes mask takes part in the traditional "Convite de fieros" festival, as part of All Saints Day celebrations in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A devotee dances in a trance during a ceremony honoring the Haitian voodoo spirits of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead in the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on November 1, 2016.
(
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man passes next to fake giant skeletons placed in an altar in front of the Fine Arts Palace for Day of the Dead in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
This Dia de Los Muertos alter in Grand Park titled "Life not Toys" is dedicated to all children of war-torn regions.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
Women with crosses protest against femicides in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man with his face painted arrives at Dolores cemetery during All Saints Day in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
)
Part of Disneyland's Day of the Dead decor, October 2008. Disney Enterprises, Inc. has filed several trademark applications for the phrase "Dia de Los Muertos."
(
Photo by juliewolfson306/Flickr (Creative Commons)
)
Revelers in Los Angeles celebrate Dia de los Muertos.
(
Photo by Rob Sheridan via Flickr Creative Commons
)
A girl dressed as Catrina is seen during a protest against femicides in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
Revelers celebrate Dia de Los Muertos at the Museum of Latin American Art.
(
Courtesy of the Museum of Latin American Art
)
Two young women in costumes pass through graves at the San Francisco Cemetery in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
)
Tonatzin Cortes and Iyelitzin Cortes wear costumes during a visit to their relative's graves at the San Francisco Cemetery in Mexico City on November 1, 2016.
(
OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman visits the grave of a loved one in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit the graves of their loved ones, during the commemoration of the day of the dead at a cemetery in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man makes improvements to the grave of a loved one during the commemoration of the day of the dead at a cemetery in Panchimalco, El Salvador on November 2, 2016.
(
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
)
A sugar skull for Dia de los Muertos.
(
Photo by Alex Barth via Flickr Creative Commons
)
Indian Catholic nuns decorates the graves of deceased sisters at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
Indian Catholics offer prayers at the graves of their family members at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
An Indian Catholic girl decorates the grave of a deceased family member at a cemetery during All Souls Day in Hyderabad on November 2, 2016.
(
NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images
)
Graves at Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris on All Saints Day, November 1, 2016.
(
PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A couple celebrates Dia de los Muertos at the Concordia Cemetery.
(
Stacy Kendrick
)
This Dia de Los Muertos altar in Grand Park titled "Remembered in Paint" is dedicated to outlaw artists.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
This Dia de los Muertos altar in Grand Park, titled "For the Homies," is dedicated to male and female gang members who turned their lives around, often through Homeboy Industries.
(
Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC
)
People adorn the resting place of relatives at the municipal cemetery of Villa Nueva, Guatemala during All Saints Day on November 1, 2016.
(
JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images
)
A man climbs on a ladder to reach a tombstone at a public cemetery on November 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. In the Philippines, family members clean tombs and often spend the night at the cemetery eating and celebrating with loved ones.
(
Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
)
Filipinos flock to cemeteries around the country to visit departed relatives and loved ones as they mark All Saints Day on November 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines.
(
Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images
)
People attend to the graves of loved ones on the eve of the Day of the Dead at the cemetery of Tzintzuntzan in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico on November 1, 2016.
(
ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images
)
A woman attends to the grave of a loved one on the eve of the Day of the Dead at the cemetery of Tzintzuntzan in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico on November 1, 2016.
(
ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP/Getty Images
)
People visit a cemetery to pay respects to their ancestors on All Saints Day in the northern Slovakian village of Bobrovec on November 1, 2016.
(
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
)
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
After rising for years, the number of residential installations in the city of Los Angeles began to drop in 2023. The city isn’t subject to recent changes in state incentives, but other factors may be contributing to the decline. -
The L.A. City Council approved the venue change Wednesday, which organizers say will save $12 million in infrastructure costs.
-
Taxes on the sale of some newer apartment buildings would be lowered under a plan by Sacramento lawmakers to partially rein in city Measure ULA.
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
Best of LAist