Pátzcuaro and Janitzio Island, Michoacán

The Purépecha indigenous tradition on Lake Pátzcuaro, where families take canoe processions at midnight across the lake to the island cemetery of Janitzio illuminated entirely by candles, is the most photographed Día de Muertos image in Mexican iconography. The Purépecha pray and maintain their ofrenda altars through the night in a ceremony that has been practiced continuously for at least 500 years.