Here's Looking At You, Muerte

Many people enjoy painting their face to match that of a skeleton/calavera. On Dia de los Muertos, the presence of Death is symbolically represented by the many painted faces that walk around you, constantly reminding you that death could be staring directly at you.

So long as you have nothing to hide, you can stare right back at Death and carry on with your night. In this way, Dia de los Muertos is both comical and serious. It is the "laugh now, cry later" event of the year. The thin line between comedy and tragedy is blurred on the Day of the Dead, so as not to see it as a border dividing the dead and the living, but as a brief amnesty where the dead can cross over without any fear of immediate deportation. Day of the Dead is the time of the year where both living and dead can enjoy a night of nostalgia, absurdity and remembrance.