Day of the Dead

Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Two men sing in front of a grave surrounded by fresh offerings of flowers and food Photograph: Leopoldo Smith/EPA

Benito Juarez, Mexico: the pantheons at Tlacotepec, a Totanacan village in the Sierra of Puebla Photograph: Ulises Ruiz/EPA

Mexico City, Mexico: a woman prays in front of a relative's grave at the cemetery of San Gregorio Atlapulco Photograph: Luis Acosta/AFP

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: marigolds and a skull with a sombrero decorate a grave Photograph: Craig Lovell/Corbis

Pomuch, Mexico: Maya Indian Litzy Moo, 7, looks at the bones of her grandmother in a small wooden crate on top of a newly embroidered cloth Photograph: Corbis

Wichita, USA: Irving Elementary fifth-grader Jose Luis Tonche decorates a sugar skull with icing Photograph: Mike Hutmacher/AP

Mexico City: a believer of Saint Death, the favorite saint for the delinquent, puts an offer in the altar during the Day of the Dead celebrations Photograph: Mario Guzman/EPA

Mexico City, Mexico: a Death believer prays during the celebration of Saint Death in the popular Tepito neighborhood Photograph: Mario Guzman/EPA

Mexico City, Mexico: young men with their faces painted, representing death Photograph: Marco Ugarte/AP

Mexico City, Mexico: a giant artwork of a skeleton sits in Zocalo plaza Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP