As she set up her ofrenda, at the second annual MSU Día de los Muertos, Michigan Indígena/Chicanx Community Alliance, or MICCA, community liaison and University of Michigan graduate student Angelica De Jesus said she was thinking about two friends.
These two friends were Amanda Harris and Maximillian Miguel Monroy-Miller, both of whom passed away this past year. The reason she was thinking about them was because of the nature of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, she said.
“Today is really about celebrating life, honoring our loved ones who have passed on, about strengthening intergenerational connections because one day we’ll be the people in the pictures that we put on the ofrenda,” she said. “As we’re doing this we’re imagining like this future where we keep on doing this.”
At the event, there were a couple different ofrendas, or altars. One was to commemorate Monroy-Miller, Chicano/Latino Studies doctoral student Erin Alvarez said. In his memory, she had his favorite books and some mayo packets on the table, things she said he loved.
Monroy-Miller helped create the MSU celebration of the Day of the Dead last year, and helped lead the procession from the Rock on Farm Lane to the Erickson Kiva, De Jesus said.
“I have no doubt he is here with us today, still laughing, still giving hugs,” Alvarez said.
Monroy-Miller died this past March.
“He was a bright light in a sometimes dim world,” Alvarez said. “He carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
De Jesus said Harris would love the Día de los Muertos celebration and that Monroy-Miller would be “so hype.” Although sad about their passing, De Jesus said she doesn’t mind thinking about them on Día de los Muertos.
“One of the biggest parts of this day for me or these days like the season, is that it’s OK to grieve and I want to encourage people to do that because it means we loved somebody,” she said. “It means we were loved.”
De Jesus set up the community ofrenda at the event. She said ofrendas are meant to be welcoming places to one’s ancestors and should have some of their favorite items.
“You also leave out your ancestors’ favorite foods,” De Jesus said. “Like if it was hot Cheetos, you leave out hot Cheetos. If it was mango, you leave out mango. And after a long journey from the underworld or the world of the dead, they’re going to be hungry. You can also leave a chair or mat so they can rest after their long journey, and it’s just really the space you create so that your loved ones can be there with you.”
With the creation of ofrendas, Día de los Muertos can be a family event, doctoral student Patricia Jaimes said. In the past, she has made ofrendas with her family and this year she was able to attend the Día de los Muertos event with her daughter, Jaslena, and her husband, Areli.
Before, when she’s helped make ofrendas, Jaimes said she followed her mother’s lead. This year, however, she said she needed to make one to honor an uncle, who was found dead a couple days previously. Although all loved ones who have passed are remembered on Día de los Muertos, the more recent deaths are the ones that resonate the most, Jaimes said.
Along with students and families, professors, such as earth and environmental sciences professor Julie Libarkin, could be found.
Invited by a student organizer who comes to her lab meetings to talk about issues and research, Libarkin said she wanted to come help support students when they put on events like Día de los Muertos.
Libarkin said she was glad she knew students like Jaimes at the event, so she could ask questions about things she might not know about, like the possible cultural misappropriation of Day of the Dead makeup.
“I think on this campus with the things that have been going on recently, that it’s really important to celebrate Latin culture,” Libarkin said.
This sharing of culture creates a ripple effect, De Jesus said. Sometimes because of a lack of coverage in school or family issues, cultural events like Día de los Muertos can be lost. That’s why it’s important to create spaces for people to engage with their culture, which can be incredibly valuable, De Jesus said.
To create this cultural sharing opportunity, students such as doctoral student Connie Rojas had to put in some work, she said.
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Rojas is the treasurer of the MICCA and said it was her job to get all the money for the event, which included about 20 sponsors and amounted to approximately $7,000. Some of the sponsors included ASMSU and Council of Graduate Students.Along with raising funds, Rojas said she booked the mariachi band and caterer and helped with the pre-planning. Rojas said the event was important to her because some of the traditions that are popular in Mexico get lost in the U.S. Having Día de los Muertos at MSU is a chance to invite people to join the fun and enjoy the mariachi band and food, she said.
