Thousands of Peruvians visited the graves of their relatives on Saturday to mark the Day of the Dead.

At the Virgen de Lourdes Cemetery — also known as the Nueva Esperanza — in a district in southern Lima, more than a million graves stretch across the desert hills that make up this vast burial ground. It is the largest cemetery in Peru.

After walking among the sandy slopes and tombs, the Rajo family arrived to clean and replace the wooden crosses they had placed last year, now weathered and worn.

Nancy Rajo brought her entire family. After a long effort to dig a new hole for the cross, they cleaned the grave and prayed for their loved one.

"Now that they are gone, we come to see them. We have to be with them until the end. We always feel sad for our parents, but you know, life is not eternal. We all follow this path." said Nancy.

The cemetery was established for low-income families who migrated to the capital from distant provinces and regions of Peru. For this reason, it is often called the “cemetery of the provincials.”

Each grave is unique — from the simplest, a shallow pit marked with stones, to elaborate mausoleums of iron and cement — reflecting the means of each family.

AP Video shot by Mauricio Muñoz