Like many Mexican Americans, visual artist Ruben Esquivel didn’t grow up with the Day of the Dead.  The fifth-generation Austinite, raised off Springdale Road, has vague memories of his first encounters with the holiday during his childhood in the 1990s and early 2000s.

What is the Day of the Dead? The Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos is filled with unique symbols to honor departed loved ones.

Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s famed Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers,

If you can’t spend Day of the Dead in Mexico, Los Angeles is where you want to be. The City of Angels has the largest Dia de los Muertos celebrations outside Mexico, with events at the Olvera Street Festival running now through November 2, and at places like LA Plaza de Cultra y Artes, which last week hosted a glamorous “chef’s table for the dead.”

More than 1 million people watched on as colourful floats and people in costumes marched through Mexico City during a grand parade for the Day of the Dead on Saturday, according to the city administration.

Mexican tradition says that on that night their deceased are closest to the living world, and people hope to keep them company