Day of the Dead 2017 photos: Catrinas, earthquake memorials, voodoo rites and drunken horse race
Day of the Dead 2017 celebrations across Latin America, from earthquake memorials in Mexico City to a drunken horse race in Guatemala and a voodoo ritual in Haiti.
The Day of the Dead is widely celebrated in Latin American countries to honour the souls of the departed. The celebration can be traced back thousands of years to pre-Columbian rituals, gradually becoming incorporated into the Christian celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
IBTimes UK presents photos of a variety of Day of the Dead 2017 celebrations across Latin America, from earthquake memorials in Mexico City to a drunken horse race in Guatemala and a voodoo ritual in Haiti.
Student Veronica Magana Montanez poses for a photograph during a Catrinas competition at the University of Michoacan in Morelia, MexicoOmar Torres/AFPStudent Jessenia Alcantara poses for a photograph dressed as Catrina (Mexican representation of death) at the University of Michoacan in Morelia, MexicoOmar Torres/AFPDevotees carry a Santa Muerte statue during the Day of the Dead in Mexico CityCarlos Jasso/ReutersA devotee with a Santa Muerte tattoo on his back rests as he walks on his knees during the celebration of La Santa Muerte or The Saint of Death in Mexico CityCarlos Jasso/ReutersA devotee blows marijuana smoke on small statues of Santa Muerte in Mexico CityCarlos Jasso/ReutersA devotee sprays alcohol onto a statute of Santa Muerte in Mexico CityCarlos Jasso/ReutersPeople visit their relatives' graves during the Day of the Dead commemoration at a cemetery in La Paz, BoliviaDavid Mercado/ReutersA girl takes a selfie with a skull during an exhibition in Mexico CityYuri Cortez/AFPVoodoo devotees dig up skulls from a tomb during ceremonies honouring the spirit of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead at the National Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, HaitiHector Retamal/AFPA voodoo devotee with a skull on top of his head takes part ceremonies honouring spirit of Baron Samdi and Gede in the Cemetery of Cite Soleil, in Port-au-Prince, HaitiHector Retamal/AFPA voodoo devotee takes the role of a spirit known as a Gede at the National Cemetery, in Port-au-Prince, in Port-au-Prince, HaitiHector Retamal/AFPA woman sits near graves of relatives during the Day of the Dead celebrations in Santa Maria Atzompa cemetery in Oaxaca, MexicoJorge Luis Plata/ReutersRelatives light candles at the grave of a loved one in Santa Maria Atzompa, Oaxca state, MexicoPatricia Castellanos/AFPWomen spend the night at the graves of their relatives during the Day of the Dead celebrations in Santa Maria Atzompa cemetery in Oaxaca, MexicoJorge Luis Plata/ReutersSugar skulls at placed at an altar in honour of the victims of the 19 September earthquake, in front of a collapsed building at Tlalpan neighbourhood in Mexico CityPedro Pardo/AFPAn offering is placed outside the Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City where 19 children and 9 adults died in the 19 September earthquakeHector Vivas/Getty ImagesA paper skeleton representing an earthquake rescue worker is seen at the Zocalo square in Mexico CityCarlos Jasso/ReutersA woman lights up a votive candle at a cemetery in Tzintzuntzan, MexicoAlan Ortega/ReutersPeople visit tombs of relatives and friends at Nueva Esperanza (New Hope) cemetery in Villa Maria del Triunfo on the outskirts of Lima, PeruGuadalupe Pardo/ReutersA girl with her face painted as the popular Mexican figure Catrina kneels in the Metepec cemetery near Mexico CityHenry Romero/ReutersAn activist with her face painted to look like the popular Mexican figure Catrina takes part in a march against the murder of women during the Day of the Dead in Mexico City,Carlos Jasso/ReutersA woman puts a message on a floral offering at a park in Mexico City for people who died in the 19 September earthquakeEdgard Garrido/ReutersMen dance before an annual horse race for drunk riders commemorating the Day of the Dead on All Saints Day at the village of Todos Los Santos Cuchumatan, GuatemalaJose Cabezas/ReutersMen participate in the annual horse race for drunk riders commemorating the Day of the Dead on All Saints Day at the village of Todos Los Santos Cuchumatan, GuatemalaJose Cabezas/ReutersPeople help a fallen rider during the annual horse race for drunk riders in Todos Los Santos Cuchumatan, GuatemalaJose Cabezas/Reuters
