On Nov. 2 a day well-known in the Latino culture called Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, was celebrated and organized on campus by the Spanish Club and with help of the students of the Spanish American Civilization class.
South Dining had tables set up with small bags of Mexican candy, and “pan de muerto,” a scrumptious, sweet bread that is traditionally eaten during a Day of the Dead event.
Mexican performers were invited to sing relevant songs to the Day of the Dead. One song, titled “Te vas ángel mío,” illustrates the nostalgia an individual tends to have when knowing that a loved one is going to pass away, and when they do pass away, the individual stays living with a “hole in their soul.”
Spanish professor Manuel Murrieta also participated in this event by reading a few of his own poems. His mother, who passed away, was a huge inspiration behind his poetry. Likewise, a few of Dr. Murrieta’s students had the privilege to present either poetry, PowerPoint presentations or paintings that represent death or a beloved one who has passed away.
Not only is this event supposed to be about remembering those who have passed away, but it also makes light of death. One way this is done is by people painting their faces as skeletons with decorative designs on them.
Brenda Herrera (junior, Spanish) gave her personal reason as to what the skeleton-painted face means to her.
“It’s a way to be satirical about death. In my case, I painted my face half skeleton, and the other half is my natural face. The unpainted half symbolizes life, and the skeleton half represents death. Metaphorically, this means that I acknowledge that I am alive right now, but I do not ignore the fact that I will eventually pass on to the other life,” Herrera said.
Murrieta explained what the Day of the Dead means to him.
“For me, I see this day as a day where all my relatives who have passed away come to visit me, and I am prepared spiritually and physically to receive them as they are with me in every day of my life,” Murrieta said.
He also added a few humble words for the students on campus.
“I think we need to continue these activities. Not just Día de los Muertos, but also many cultural activities in order to expose the use of Spanish, and in order to expose the powerful Latin-American culture. Especially this campus, since there are many students who have a Mexican background. They need to know about their roots and get involved, because me as a professor, and other adults, we are going to pass away eventually and the new generations need to continue with these activities,” Murrieta said.
The Spanish Club hopes to continue their cultural practices here on campus to expose the Latin-American culture.