San Jose, California – Under a new award category of Documentary, that was launched by Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival, with the objective of increasing readership and interest for Latino Books in United States, “Day of the Dead A Passion for Life,” a 200 page book filled with images and text that illustrates their unique characteristics and interpretations of the Day of the Dead celebration in secluded indigenous communities of Michoacan, received the first place award on October 9, 2010.

Mary J. Andrade has traveled to Mexico in October and November since 1987 to photograph and document Day of the Dead celebrations. Her work has been collected in a series of bilingual books entitled, Through the Eyes of the Soul, Day of the Dead in Mexico.

She lives with her family in San Jose, California and is the Co-founder and Travel Editor of La Oferta, a weekly bilingual newspaper.

Written in English and Spanish, the third book of the series explores Day of the Dead in the metropolis of Mexico City, and also includes Mixquic and Morelos. The author shares vibrant and lively rituals that honor the dead, which are unique to that region.

In 1987, Mary J. Andrade started a journalistic research project, which began in Janitzio, Michoacan. Since then, Mary has covered a different state of the Mexican Republic each year to gather information and take photographs of a pre-Hispanic tradition known as Day of the Dead— a tradition that has evolved through the centuries and has become an integral element of the Mexican spirit and culture.

La Oferta Publishing company is proud to announce that “Day of the Dead A Passion for Life” won two International Latino Book Awards for the Best Travel Book (Bilingual) and Best Cover Design (Soft Cover) . The awards were presented to the author, Mary J. Andrade, during BookExpo America on May 29, 2008, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.