School’s virtual version of ‘Coco’ honors Día de los Muertos
While getting the hang of academics in the age of COVID-19, third- and fourth-graders at Ronald Reagan Elementary School have also become proponents of the arts, preparing and rehearsing day-by-day for the virtual premiere of their musical adaptation of the Pixar film “Coco” in celebration of Días de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”), a Mexican holiday observed Nov. 1-2 to honor deceased loved ones.
Commonly mistaken as a “Mexican version of Halloween,” Dia de los Muertos differs greatly from the mischief-laden fright night in both tradition and tone with its explosive color, symbolism and spirit of celebration.
“Dia de los Muertos is a really colorful, beautiful celebration of life after death,” said Vanessa Martinez, Reagan’s art and library specialist. “I grew up thinking Dia de los Muertos was like Halloween, but then I learned along with my students that Dia de los Muertos is about celebrating the life that we have currently and the life that has passed as well.”
“We have a heavily populated demographic of Hispanic culture in our school – about 80% of the students enrolled,” added Principal Tom Fletcher. “But that doesn’t mean all of those kids celebrate this holiday. Everybody always thinks it’s Halloween, and it’s not Halloween and I think it needs to have its own recognition.”
Set to premiere on the school website and Facebook page Monday through the work of staff who have expertise in video/ audio recording and editing, the performance involves about 120 students – those who are learning on-campus and those who are learning online via Crane School District’s school-connected remote learning option.
“This is the Reagan community, and we don’t leave anybody out,” Fletcher said.
The cohorts have rehearsed daily in their special area music, art and physical education classes, pulling together teachers and staff from all corners of the school.
Besides learning choreography and how to sing in Spanish, the rehearsals have also posed a few extracurricular lessons in art, history and math as the students made sugar skulls and other creative projects to add to the set, discovered the rich background of Dia de los Muertos and learned how to count rhythms.
“I don’t speak Spanish, so I’m learning a second language and I’m going through the struggle of that with the other kids that are learning Spanish for the first time,” Fletcher said. “But also the reversal flip of that is our Spanish-speaking kids that learn English all the time and struggle – now they’re seeing me, the principal, go through that same struggle that they go through.”
For the team of teachers involved in the project – many of whom share backgrounds in music education – it was apparent from the time they started planning for the school year’s various performances that this one would have to be virtual. Holding off until it was safe to welcome a live audience to the school wasn’t an option, they said.
“I couldn’t imagine getting through any season without some type of musical performance,” said Ericka Nelson, the school’s registrar. “And I think these kids, especially right now where they’ve just gone through this weird pandemic and quarantine, music is the best thing to make them feel like they belong to something and we can’t deny them that. I know these kids will do better in their other subjects because they’re having music right now.”
According to Nelson, music is an essential outlet for times like these.
“Music has to be a part of their lives,” said Nelson. “We can attach so many memories to a song, and these kids will remember this. They’re not going to remember their Zoom meetings, but they’re going to remember singing these songs during this time.”
Fletcher added: “This is one place where they can just kick up their heels and it’s fun and it takes physical energy and they’re doing something with their classmates as a collective team – there are so many things that music does for us, but it really raises your spirits. And what a fun way to learn about somebody else’s culture or your own culture. I think that’s the beauty of all of this.”
The production will premiere Monday on the school’s website at www.craneschools.org/ ronaldreaganelementaryschool_home.aspx as well as the school’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ RREScrane, time to be determined.