Anima Sola

The Anima Sola, or lonely soul, is a depiction of a suffering person in chains amidst the barred prison doors and flames of Purgatory, the place where sinners go while awaiting final judgment, and has no peace. On the Mexican Day of the Dead, it is traditional to add a candle to the home altar display for the "Forgotten Soul". Some people light the candle outside, by the roadside. They build a brick screen around it to protect it from the wind. Because the Anima Sola looks penitential and reverent and her chains are broken, the image sends an ambiguous message of suffering and release from suffering.