Conchas. Tamales. Fizzing orange soda. The spices and sweet scents of food weave through the entire town, inviting everyone—the dead and the living—to return home. Burning candles and the perfume of marigolds fill the evening as dusk turns to night, as people flood the streets. This festivity is known as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, traditionally celebrated from November 1st to 2nd.
Although commonly associated with Mexico, it is celebrated throughout Latin America and by the Latino population. The holiday was born from a combination of Catholicism and a pre-existing celebration of the Aztec people, due to the Spanish colonization of Latin America. The Catholic elements come from All Saints Day and All Souls Day, a day dedicated to families decorating and offering food at the graves of their deceased loved ones, lighting candles to help guide them home. Meanwhile the Aztecs celebrated their deity Mictēcacihuātl, Lady of the Dead, for protecting the bones of their deceased by dancing and feasting. The combination of these different holidays created the Día de los Muertos people are familiar with today.
CHS celebrates this by hosting a Día de los Muertos festival organized by the Spanish Department. In their Spanish classes, students work hard on various projects. For example, amate—a paper made from the bark of amate, nettle, and mulberry trees—is created and then decorated with skulls by students taking Spanish 2. The ofrendas displayed during the festival are put together by the IB and AP Spanish students, requiring them to not only research the person but to immerse themselves in the culture of honoring the person their ofrenda is dedicated to. Activities that took place in the CHS Central Quad included temporary tattoos of colorful skulls, voting for the best ofrenda, coloring, and soccer.
When asked about why this festival is important, Spanish teacher Mariana Lanz believes it brings awareness to the culture of students with Hispanic heritage.
“CHS is big on cultures. We celebrate Oktoberfest and French culture,” Lanz said. “Since we already have the languages we might as well bring awareness to what’s going on.”
People coming from Hispanic backgrounds make up the largest ethnic group in California, just about 40% of the state’s population. Especially with the increasing popularity of the celebration nationally and internationally, people should be able to learn and experience cultural events such as Día de los Muertos. CHS celebrated Día de los Muertos this year with an abundance of cempasuchiles and calaveras, encouraging students to explore this historic avenue of Hispanic culture.
