Although it falls the day after Halloween, Day of the Dead isn't about candy, ghosts or pumpkins. For Chicano and Latino students on campus, Day of the Dead is a celebration for loved ones who have passed away.
The Day of the Dead celebration, also known as "D'a de los Muertos," is greatly celebrated in Mexico. Mexican families visit the cemetery and decorate graves.
Julia Cardenas, who is half Mexican and half Salvadoran, said she wasn't raised celebrating this holiday but began learning about her heritage after she came to college.
"When I came here, it was like finding a family here," Cardenas, a secondary education and Spanish sophomore said. "It's cool learning about my roots."
As her eyes welled up with tears, Cardenas said she uses the day to remember her cousin, who passed away when she was younger.
Other students, such as Maria Carmona, an interdisciplinary studies in social science senior, also celebrate the day. Carmona celebrates the holiday because it is a family tradition, she said.
"It gives me the opportunity to be proud of (my culture)," she said. "I moved to the United States from Mexico, but I'm still able to bring the culture here with me."
Carmona added she also pays tribute to deceased members of her family.
"They're not gone completely," she said. "We still have memories."
Gabriel Ramirez, a jazz studies sophomore, said he celebrates Day of the Dead to remember important Chicano and Latino figures from history, including family members.
"You celebrate the life of someone who made a difference or just your family," Ramirez said. "You let the memory live."
Students studying Spanish who are enrolled in the High School Equivalency Program, or HEP, also attended the event. HEP helps students with migrant or seasonal farmwork backgrounds earn their high school general-education degrees.
HEP instructors encouraged students to attend the event and write a paper about what they learned. A traditional offering display with food, hats and art was set up for everyone to see.
Rolando Almendariz, an HEP student, came to the celebration as part of the assignment.
"I think it's very creative and pretty," Almendariz said as he looked at the display.
Students created the display and participated in the Day of the Dead celebration for a class. Javier Pescador, an associate professor of history who teaches the class responsible for the event, said he felt the project was a way to get his students to interact with the Chicano/Latino culture.
"According to the Aztecs, the word for dead is 'flesh-less,'" Pescador said. "They become part of the larger or Great Spirit. For me, it's important to be able to communicate that to the students."
