It's a tradition that's been carried on for more than three thousand years.. *Dia De Los Muertos*.. also known as 'Day of the Dead'.
23ABC's Adam Bowles shows us how some families are honoring their loved ones.
"When they said he was suffering too much, we disconnected him and yea fourteen hours later he passed away on Christmas and was actually dead on Christmas and we buried him on New Years," Martinez says.
Natalia lost her father after a stroke in 2012.
Today, she remembers the good times.
"Everything he would do, I would always try to go around with him. I always wanted to be around him," Martinez says.
This Bakersfield couple recognized "Dia De Los Muertos" or the Day of the Dead, by honoring her father Pedro Martinez Lucas.. putting candles -- flowers -- and decorations on his grave at the historic union cemetery.
She remembers their bond that only got stronger when Natalia herself got very sick.
"They were putting in me IV's to take out all of the medicine they injected me with. I really think my dad saved me," Natalia says.
Natalia says it's a miracle she survived due to an infection. That's why she is here today with her boyfriend Luis to celebrate their hero.
"Its not a time to be sad or none of that (but it hurts) It hurts that he's gone but you celebrate who that person was in life," Luis says.
Today, the couple poured his favorite beer over his grave to celebrate, recognizing his death through celebration which will live on for future generations.
