Every year millions of people celebrate Die de Muertos (The Day of the Dead). The day isn’t one of sadness but a day to celebrate and remember family members who have died. 
Members of the Martinez family begin Dia de Muertos with setting up of the ofrenda (alter) to remember family members who have died. 2. Jesus Martinez, son of Juan Martinez and Hermilinda Martinez, reflects on family. 
The haunting eyes of Juan Martinez reminds his son, “I am here with you, do not forget me.” 
Erika Martinez, sister to Jesus Martinez draws the likeness of a sugar skull on her face in preparation for the ceremony. 
As Jesus is preparing his face paint, a phantom like image appears before him, making it seem as though he is staring at his own reflection doing an action while he is staying still. 
The setting of the ceremony lies within Joyze Cemetary which is located on the outskirts of Madisonville, Texas, fifteen minutes away from the Martinez home. 
Jesus walks in the shadows of his father as he is dressed in his hat and similar clothing from the day his father was murdered on November 13, 2011. 
The garden of the dead represents Jesus’s recently passed away loved ones which includes his grandfather, his uncle, and his father. The graves are decorated beautifully throughout the year to let them know that they will never be forgotten. 
Jesus is laying out a blanket to set the offering and potential alter on the hollow ground between the headstones of his loved ones. 
El pan hecho de huesos is known as the sweet bread made from bones; it represents the bones of the ones who have passed and is supposed to be shared among the dead and the living. Next to the bread is a traditional sugar skull which is not usually consumed but can be eaten if one chooses to do so; it is made out of pure sugar and icing. 
Juan Martinez always started his day with a special blend of coffee 
Jesus, Erika, and the mother Hermilinda Martinez gather around the alter to bless the passing of their love ones. 
Erika Martinez is placing the photos of the lost loved ones around the makeshift alter, recalling old tales of what she remembers from when she was a small child. 
The family lines up showing off their sugar skull painted faces in light of the ceremony. 
Special to the Martinez family, tequila is also used as an offering since it the family’s drink of choice when they are all together. Jesus is pouring his father’s portion of the tequila into his grave so that he may drink it. 
Erika prays for her relatives to find safe passage back to the land of the dead and for their safe passage back to their home as well at the end of the ceremony. She also prays to her father that he may bless her unborn child who will be due in the month of March. 
The hat of the late Juan Martinez is seen perched on top of the sugar skull illuminated by the light of Jesus Christ. Jesus decided to place his father’s hat there on the ofrenda because he wanted his father to be represented as a holy and just man who never went anywhere without the light of God in his heart. 
The cross set up in the grave of Sixto Martinez (the grandfather) glows brightly in the moonlit night, reminding the Martinez family that they will always carry their loved ones with them in their hearts. It is also a symbol representing that Christ is not only with the living, but he is looking over the dead as well.
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