In Mexico, at the end of October, as the days grow short and the nights chill, towns and villages all over come alive with celebration to honor departed relatives and friends. It is a festive and a thoughtful time, as families reunite at homes and graves to share memories of loved ones and mock the specter of death with costume, dance, and song.

This project began in 1985 and took the writer, Rosalind Rosoff Beimler, and I through four Mexican states to capture the preparations and celebration of Mexico's annual holiday for the dead.

"The Days of the Dead: Mexico's Festival of Communion with the Departed" was first published in 1991 by Collins Publishers San Francisco and has sold over 30,000 copies. We are pleased to announce that the third edition, published by Pomegranate Press, will be available in stores in March, 1998.

I hope you enjoy the photographs. We will be adding more images from the book and also from my travels, so be sure to check back from time to time.