USU celebrates Dia de Los Muertos
By Shanie Howard
Utah State University’s Latino Student Union brought Dia de Los Muertos to USU on Nov. 2. Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a deeply meaningful cultural festival held annually in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Many of the customs that are associated with Dia de Los Muertos are actually combinations of Aztec ritual and Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores. Some of the customs associated with Dia de Los Muertos include decorative ofrendas (altars) with fabrics, flowers, candles, pictures, food and hand-made sugar skulls in honor of loved ones who have passed and the lives they lived.
Because of the importance of the holiday to the Latino population, the LSU made sure to bring these customs to USU.
“We want to give the Latino students a chance to celebrate one of their traditions and allow USU students to honor anyone they’ve lost, as well,” said Angela Enno, adviser over LSU and one of the head planners of the event.
Many students appreciated the opportunity, including the Psi Sigma Phi fraternity, which decided to participate in the holiday and create their own ofrendas for Felipe Benetiz, a member of the fraternity who passed away a few years ago.
Other students took the chance to commemorate some of their own family members, including Evon Carrillo, a dietetics and Spanish major, who lost her uncle to cancer two years ago.
“I am happy I get to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos. It helps me remember my uncle in a positive way instead of the negative way he was lost,” Carrillo said.
But it wasn’t just grieving USU students who took the chance to participate in the festival.
“I don’t know much about the Day of the Dead other than what I’ve seen in “The Book of Life” movie, so this is a great chance to learn more about it,” said Stephanie McMahon, a psychology major.
Throughout the day, students got the opportunity to decorate a sugar skull in honor of their loved ones who have passed, get their faces painted, participate in an open mic to speak about and share stories and memories of their lost loved ones, and watch the movie “The Book of Life” at the Taggart Student Center free of charge.
Additionally, the LSU sold Pan de Muertos — a special bread for the holiday — hot chocolate and one-dollar tacos to help fund scholarships for Latino students.
“I am so happy we were able to put on this event. It really helps a lot of people with the grieving process after losing a loved one and also helps the Latino students share some of their culture with USU,” Enno said.
— shaniehoward214@gmail.com