Culture on parade
MHS students celebrate culture with ‘Dia de los Muertos’ procession on campus
About 200 Monache High School students lined up outside the school’s foreign language department Friday afternoon with faces painted like decorated skeletons to participate in a procession observing the Mexican holiday ‘Dia de los Muertos’ (Day of the Dead).
“I teach Spanish and one of the components is culture, so all the Spanish teachers and I are teaching about ‘Dia de los Muertos, which is a very big celebration in Mexico originally,” said Silvia Camarena, Spanish teacher at MHS. “It’s just a beautiful celebration and we wanted to bring a hands-on project for students to participate in so they can really experience and learn.”
Camarena said some of the students showed up early in the morning to get their face painted or to paint the faces of others. At 1:10 p.m. during lunch time students began the procession from the foreign language building to the campus circle, where they made
their way around the center.
After the procession students were invited to Camarena’s classroom to enjoy some authentic pan de muerto (authentic Mexican sweet bread) and drinks. Several students stopped by to pick up a piece of bread and observe the altar displayed in keeping with the holiday’s tradition.
“I think this is fun and really creative, considering this is very cultural,” said MHS junior Nyela Garcia, who admitted she learned some new things about her culture. “I always tell my mom to take me to my cousin’s grave to do something like this, and I think this is very cool to have it here at school.”
Garcia said she had no idea what the sweet bread represented until now.
“I think it’s really cool how it is shaped as a soul and it represents the earth. It’s like things from childhood suddenly explained,” she said.
Junior Marcos Zamora was also enjoying some sweet bread and had his face painted.
“I learned about the ‘pan de muerto.’ I did know we are supposed to eat the bread on the day of the dead,” said Zamora. “This has been culturally enriching.”
Students connected with the Day of the Dead traditions by building private altars called ‘ofrendas’ to honor the deceased by using calaveras (skulls), the favorite food or beverage of the departed, or any possession that belonged to them.
“This is the first year we’ve done this procession, and it was a pretty good turnout,” said Camarena. “The kids were nervous at first, but I think they enjoyed it.”
Camarena said the event was the latest in an ongoing effort to teach students about the culture behind the language they are learning.
“Today is just the culminating event, because we had been learning about it before,” said Camarena. “Some brought pictures of their loved ones, some brought pictures of their favorite artists. They brought candles and everything had a meaning.”
Camarena said instructing her students about the cultural significance of the holiday has been a rewarding experience.
“I really like teaching it because it really captures the students’ interest,” added Camarena. “We want to start small and then hopefully we can have an event opened for the community in the future.”