Day of the Dead, also known as the Dia de los Muertos, is often mistakenly called the "Mexican Halloween" because of the year it's celebrated and its use of skeletons. The holiday has its roots in southern Mexico, honors the memory of departed family members, friends and even pets.

For many small communities in Mexico, Day of the Dead is about preserving the core of their traditions as celebrations in places in bigger hubs have increasingly been marked by mass tourism.

Like many Mexican Americans, visual artist Ruben Esquivel didn’t grow up with the Day of the Dead.  The fifth-generation Austinite, raised off Springdale Road, has vague memories of his first encounters with the holiday during his childhood in the 1990s and early 2000s.