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César Rodriguez

Ceferino González and his son Licho take a moment of rest on their hike through the Sierra Madre Occidental, a massive system of mountain ranges that runs down the west coast of Mexico. “I really miss travelling to remote areas of my country and getting to know the people and their stories, their traditions, and their way of life,” says photographer César Rodríguez.

A woman passes by a sculpture made by artist Raymundo Medina in the neighborhood of Tlahuac in Mexico City. In previous years, the whole street was decked out in artifacts, sculptures, and decorations for Día de los Muertos. This year, the three large sculptures made the streets feel emptier.

A police officer stands guard outside the Cemetery La Loma, in Tlalnepantla de Baz, Mexico, while undertaker Joaquin Ramirez waits for a burial ceremony inside. Cemeteries are closed—some for months, some for weeks, and some just for the Day of the Dead. “People have been very thoughtful,” says photographer César Rodríguez. “I thought at the beginning there’d be more fights between police and those who want to go inside. But they are accepting it.”

Andres and Alan wait inside their truck while their family mourns their grandfather, Eduardo Martinez, who they said died in a robbery. He was buried in Mexico’s Xico-Chalco cemetery, in one of the areas set aside for pandemic victims. Photographer César Rodríguez wasn’t sure how that came to be. “The people I talked to in the COVID part of the cemetery, none of them told me that they died from COVID,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s some kind of stigma or taboo or shame.”

A young boy with a bouquet of marigolds waits for his mother outside a bakery as she buys offerings for Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, in San Andres Mixquic, Mexico. The yellow flower is strung over headstones and laid on altars, thought to represent the brightness of the sun illuminating a path for the spirits to return to Earth from Mictlán, the underworld. This year, the usually festive traditions around Dia de los Muertos were largely celebrated in private.

Bucerias, Mexico: Photographer César Rodriguez was walking on the beach when a woman on a horse passed him. "The wind was against her so I couldn't hear the steps of the horse," he says. "She appeared and went fast, like a mirage."

Tepic, Mexico: Members of the band Revelacion Norteña play outside Tepic's cathedral. They used to perform at parties but since everything stopped they've been trying to earn money by playing on the streets.

Xalisco, Mexico: "Our rooftop is a place we always wanted to go but never did," says photographer César Rodriguez. "Now we are using it to see beyond our house to the mountains around us."