A ceremony to punish people for heresy, called an ‘auto da fe,’ in the town of San Bartolome Otzolotepec, in present-day Mexico.
Museo Nacional de Arte/Wikimedia Commons
Conversion was often a violent affair, but that doesn’t mean it was 100% successful. Colonial Latin America was home to many different spiritual traditions from Indigenous, African and Asian cultures.
Revelers dressed as Catrina, an iconic Day of the Dead skeleton, at a holiday parade in Mexico City, Oct. 21, 2018.
Reuters/Andres Stapff
Kirby Farah, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
It may sound like a solemn affair, but the Day of the Dead – which blends indigenous and Catholic ritual – is a convivial celebration that allows Mexicans to reconnect with deceased loved ones.
Zarina Sodha, from Lakhpath Kachchh, Gujarat (western India), a folk singer.
Anjali Monteiro/KP Jayakrishnan