"""MEXICO, Veracruz, Tantoyuca, Oct 27- Nov 4, 2009. Mask shopping in Tantoyuca's """"Plaza Constitucion."""" """"Xantolo,"""" the Nahuatl word for """"Santos,"""" or holy, marks a week-long period during which the whole Huasteca region of northern Veracruz state prepares for """"Dia de los Muertos,"""" the Day of the Dead. For children on the nights of October 31st and adults on November 1st, there is costumed dancing in the streets, and a carnival atmosphere, while Mexican families also honor the yearly return of the souls of their relatives at home and in the graveyards, with flower-bedecked altars and the foods their loved ones preferred in life. Photographs for HOY by Jay Dunn."""
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