PHOTOS: Mexican families spend night in cemetery with deceased loved ones for Day of the Dead

Skeletal images have abounded in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times. But in 1910, when Mexico was living under the exclusionary policies of dictator Porfirio Díaz , illustrator José Guadalupe Posada sketched the image of La Catrina as a tool for social satire. So for the Day of the Dead Mexicans paint their faces to resemble the image of La Catrina. In another tradition that coincides with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, families decorate the graves of departed relatives with flowers and candles, and spend the night in the cemetery, eating and drinking as they keep company with their deceased loved ones.

Updated on: Nov 02, 2019 3:04 PM IST

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Candles illuminate children's tombs in the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery during Day of the Dead festivities on the outskirts of Mexico City. (AP)

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A relative spends the night next to a child's tomb in the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery during Day of the Dead festivities on the outskirts of Mexico City. (AP)

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Relatives spend the night next to a child's tomb in the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery during Day of the Dead festivities on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. In a tradition that coincides with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, families decorate the graves of departed relatives with flowers and candles, and spend the night in the cemetery, eating and drinking as they keep company with their deceased loved ones. (AP)

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Relatives spend the night next to the tomb of their loved one in the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery. (AP)

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Relatives spend the night next to the tomb of tier loved one in the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery. (AP)

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A child sits next to a tomb, illuminated with candles in the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery. (AP)