Liliana Martinez said she wishes she could be in Tamaulipas, Mexico, with her parents today to give her grandfather cigarettes, spicy food and his favorite hat.
Instead, the food industry management junior will be remembering him on campus in honor of the Mexican ritual, El Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Martinez said today is a special day for her family because her grandfather died on April 4.
"He was a very important part of my life," said Martinez, a Texas resident. "(This) shows we know who he was and that he is still here in some way, shape or form."
Many in the Mexican community will participate in the ritual, to honor and present offerings — often the person's favorite things — to deceased family members and friends. The items are often placed on an altar built by family or friends, or on the deceased person's grave.
On Tuesday, Martinez and her IAH classmates participated in an El Día de Los Muertos celebration.
Associate history Professor Javier Pescador coordinated the class event and said it was an opportunity to showcase the diverse skills of his students.
"There is a common misconception that MSU students are apathetic," Pescador said.
"I want to show the potential of the students."
Groups from Pescador's class were designated projects regarding specific aspects of the ritual to present at the event, which was held at the Nisbet Building.
Spanish senior Brooke Bator researched the traditions and meanings of the figures used in the ritual, and she said the event helps everyone in the MSU community become aware of rituals in other cultures.
"For a lot of people, they have never heard of Día de Los Muertos," she said. "It's an eye opener — different than what we are used to. It's very important because we are close to Mexico and they make up a great part of culture."
Bator helped assemble an altar with vibrant sugar skulls, lit candles, instruments, crosses and several items of food, including Day of the Dead bread, or pan de muertos, in the foyer area.
Bator said the altar is meant to draw the soul of the deceased person in and it would be bad luck if a living person were to eat or displace an offering.
The display will remain in the Nisbet Building until Nov. 17 and is open to the public.
A march will be held at 4:45 p.m. today, starting at the Kellogg Center and concluding at the rock on Farm Lane, to honor those who have died trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States, psychology sophomore Leticia Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said those walking in the march, which is being organized by Movimiento Estudiantil Xicano de Aztlan, or MEXA, will paint their faces black and white and carry skulls to signify the people who died trying to migrate from Mexico.
Biosystems engineering junior Mauro Marquez gave a presentation on musicians Lucha Reyes and Lydia Mendoza at Tuesday's event and said observance of the day is beneficial to the living.
"People are afraid of death, and this is a celebration of death," he said.
