The Day of the Dead

"The Mexican...is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it; it is one of his favourite toys and his most steadfast love." Octavio Paz, El laberinto de la soledad, (The Labyrinth of Solitude, 1961). The Day of the Dead is a comprehensive, visual compilation of all forms of artistic material celebrating the world-famous annual Mexican festival. According to Mexican tradition, one day in the year belongs exclusively to the dead, a day on which they are granted celestial permission to visit friends and relatives on earth. In modern Mexico, festivities for the dead are idiosyncratic. Blending pre-Christian and Christian elements, celebrations for All Saints' and All Souls’ are unique in the Catholic world.