In order to know Oaxaca, you have to feel Oaxaca from within. You may know a thing or two from Oaxaca. People commonly know what it is and where it is located. But nothing is truly known. It is a place considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to their richness in their food, cultural traditions and architectural jewels. Oaxaca became popular because Frida Kahlo made sure to expose its culture through her famous paintings. Oaxaca is one of Mexico’s most important sites and people who visit and live there think they know how it works. Yet, they don’t know a single thing of what they’re visiting. Oaxaca is still an enigma. In 2011; I was able to attend their big celebration; “La Guelaguetza” which is celebrated yearly in the capital of the state; Oaxaca. Many indigenous cultures come to the celebration and they dance and sing on the streets representing the 8 different regions in the state. Magic is all around. I made the decision to get to know Oaxaca and begin “Inside Oaxaca”. Sometimes you drive for nine hours to travel 186 miles. It sometimes turns out to be exhausting to the driver but worth it to the photographer. Since I drive by myself, the road seems to constantly surprise both the driver and photographer in me. There are 570 counties in Oaxaca distributed in 8 regions. Each region has its own cultural richness and traditions. Getting to know the insides of Oaxaca is what makes you fall in love with a magical Mexico. Once you feel Oaxaca in your skin; the emperor’s heritage touches your heart making you fall in love with an unexplored land waiting to be discovered.

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.  

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.  

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.  

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.  

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.  

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.  

The day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. In Mexico, we don’t grieve death. On the contrary, we dance and sing to death. Day of the Death is the most alive day in Mexico. Day of the Death is the most Mexican day of all. I dare to say that even before celebrating the Independence or the Revolution; we celebrate death. No speeches are made, no public celebration is being held. Day of the Death is when the Mexican laughs and mocks death. It is the day when you stare in its eyes and share a drink from a bottle of tequila or mezcal. Cementeries in Patzcuaro, Michoacán are filled with Cempatzuchitl flowers while candles light up the spaces between graves. These spaces are then filled with light that shows the dead the way to come back to their homes and share food and drinks that they enjoyed the most with their loved ones who are paying their annual visit. Women, men, boys and girls stay awake on the night of November 1st and the morning of November 2nd. They stay close to their family’s graves waiting to see them one more time or remembering them through their most loved memories. The children then run and stroll around through crosses and crowns asking for a treat or a coin for their calabacita (“little pumpkin”). I have come to the conclusion that the day you understand the meaning of death, it is the day you begin living. That same day is the day you understand how important every action is; how your story will be told to the ones that come after you, and what legacy you will leave behind.