I’ve been absent from this space for several weeks, and part of that was due to a wonderful trip to observe and photograph Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead celebrations, in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Although too many people in the US equate this annual event with our domestic Halloween, they are not at all the same. Despite the efforts of many large retailers to merge and commercialize them.

Anyway, below are a few of the images I took during the week. More can be found in the full gallery, if you’re interested.

One big part of the three day celebration were the many parades through the center of town. This was one of the smaller ones.

Selfies are one of those universals in every culture.

The variety of decorated skulls, visible almost everywhere, was amazing.

Although whole families are involved with Day of the Dead celebrations, children were front and center for many events, especially the parades.