![]() As such, they’re loaded with offerings-water to quench thirst after the long journey, food, family photos, and a candle for each dead relative. These aren’t altars for worshipping rather, they’re meant to welcome spirits back to the realm of the living. The centerpiece of the celebration is an altar, or ofrenda, built in private homes and cemeteries. Today Mexicans from all religious and ethnic backgrounds celebrate Día de los Muertos, but at its core, the holiday is a reaffirmation of Indigenous life. In 2008, UNESCO recognized the importance of Día de los Muertos by adding the holiday to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says that cultural heritage also includes living expressions of culture-traditions-passed down from generation to generation. It has been recognized by UNESCO.Ĭultural heritage is not just monuments and collections of objects. It takes place on November 1 and 2-All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the Catholic calendar-around the time of the fall maize harvest. ![]() Today’s Día de los Muertos celebration is a mash-up of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts. The dead were still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit-and during Día de los Muertos, they temporarily returned to Earth. For these pre-Hispanic cultures, death was a natural phase in life’s long continuum. Unauthorized use is prohibited.ĭay of the Dead originated several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other Nahua people, who considered mourning the dead disrespectful. View more photos from this day of remembrance and celebration.Please be respectful of copyright. He’s inspirational because he was always happy. “Throughout my childhood, I looked up to him,” Tique said. His altar included candles, bread and a red hat, similar to the one Cepillín was known for. For Tique, Cepillín was a favorite childhood character. Kennedy High School senior Kevin Tique said his altar honored Ricardo González Gutiérrez, a singer, TV host and actor best known as Cepillín, a clown. “This is an event that we do every year to celebrate and honor our students’ culture,” Calvo said. She said students could choose to honor a famous figure or an ancestor for the project. For Calvo, the assignment is a way to honor the heritage of many of her students. “They are happy and excited to do it.”Ībraham Lincoln High School teacher Elena Calvo said the high school students worked on the ofrendas as part of a class research assignment. “This is a big cultural party,” Marquez said. ![]() As part of the project, the students were required to research an iconic figure, create an altar in their honor and speak about their significance. Read more about the holiday.Įva Marquez, a teacher at North High School, said the event gives her students the opportunity to showcase their research, crafting and presentation skills. On Dia de los Muertos, t he Indigenous peoples of Mexico celebrate the lives of departed family members and welcome their return. Regis students led the way as the campus hosted this day of celebration and remembrance, which included displays of ofrendas on campus, a showing of Coco, and Mass, offered both in Spanish and English. Under the leadership of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence, the Regis College Language Department, Regis University students, faculty and staff, the Northwest Denver Campus welcomed more than 150 students from Denver Public Schools to showcase ofrendas they created in honor of Dia de los Muertos. “It was really interesting to get to know more about her and get to show her off within our culture and be able to express our culture.”įrom artists to actors and from singers to authors, Regis University’s Main Hall and various spots on campus were lined with ofrendas celebrating the memory of iconic figures in honor of Dia de los Muertos. To us, it represented how inspirational she was to a lot of women,” Ramirez said. So, on Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, Ramirez and her class partner showcased an ofrenda, or altar, in her honor, complete with photos of the singer, candles and red flowers. Kennedy High School senior Guadalupe Ramirez was inspired by the life of singer Jenni Rivera, who was known for her music in the genres of Banda, Mariachi and Norteño.
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