Dia de los Muertos: Best pictures from Day of the Dead celebrations

Celebrations for the Mexican festival were held in Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Hollywood

During the annual celebration of Dia de los Muertos, people in Mexico, Latin America and across the world commemorate the lives of loved ones who have passed away.

Ofrendas (altars) are set up in homes of members of the Mexican community, where photographs of the deceased and items such as their favourite foods are placed in honour of their memory.

Public celebrations also take place, including parades featuring large skeletal figures, traditional dancers and a plethora of extravagantly dressed participants and spectators.

In Mexico City, the fourth annual Day of the Dead parade took place this year, the first of which was attended by a quarter of a million people in 2016.

Click through the gallery above to see the best pictures from Dia de los Muertos celebrations this year.

In Los Angeles, California, scores of people visited the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to take part in site’s 20th annual Day of the Dead festivities.

The theme of the event was monarch butterflies, which are believed by those who observe Dia de los Muertos to hold the spirits of the people in their lives who they have lost.

A march titled “March of the Catrinas” was held in Mexico City to raise awareness of and protest against femicide and violence towards women in the country.

Many of the female marchers wore “skull candy” make-up and carried pink crucifixes inscribed with messages including “ni una más” (not one more) and “vivas nos queremos“ (we want ourselves to be alive).

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, a “Zombie Walk” was held in celebration of Dia de los Muertos, an annual event that sees attendees don gruesome, zombie-inspired ensembles.

To read about the importance of celebrating Dia de los Muertos with cultural sensitivity, click here.