Whittier Dines With The Dead
On Nov. 2, the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx De Atzlan (M.E.Ch.A), and ASWC hosted a luncheon in honor of Día de Los Muertos. he vent as bright and festive, and featured many different aspects of traditional Día de Los Muertos celebrations. When walking up to the North Lawn, students could clearly hear the sound of the Mariachi playing. Many of the staff and faculty showed up wearing bright embroidered shirts.
The luncheon had food provided by Bon Appetit. The lunch entree consisted of Mexican rice, beans, barbacoa, and enchiladas. The drinks provided were aguas frescas, such as horchata. Finally, for dessert there were churros and polvorones.
The tables had a centerpiece made of sunflowers and empasúchiles, or marigolds, in mason jars. Next to the centerpieces were framed informational sheets of paper explaining what Día de Los Muertos is, and the significance of the different elements of the celebration, like the ofrendas and cempasúchiles. This is all a part of M.E.Ch.A co-chairs Sesha Hernandez-Real and Galilea Landa-Posas’ efforts to educate the Whittier College community while also creating safe spaces for the Latinx community.
Hernandez-Real commented on the importance of Día de Los Muertos: “I think it’s a really beautiful time […] coming together with your family and with your friends to honor those who have passed away, and remember [the] legacies, not only of your family, but the the legacies of people who you looked up to.”
She also commented on the importance of having the annual Día de Los Muertos event on campus. “I think it’s important to celebrate events like these on campus because we do have a huge population of Latinx identifying students, and this would be a great way to honor their culture here on campus and show them that they’re here, they’re visible, and they’re represented here.” Hernandez-Real’s words were definitely reflected in the event. No one passing by the North Lawn could ignore the music and the bright colors of the ofrendas.
A lot of students attended the event and took the time to look around the ofrendas. Life and death is something we all experience, and, as Hernandez-Real said, “This isn’t something that is just [isolated] to Latin America. So many other cultures have similar celebrations such as these, and I think it can really open the doors for other cultures to be able to intersect within the Latinx community and share about their own. Also just to open up to people who may not know about the Day of the Dead and it’s importance”
The ofrendas were put together by different organizations on campus. Landa-Posas reflected on the importance of the ofrendas by saying, “[The clubs] chose […] a theme or […] their own family member.” Both Hernandez-Real and Landa-Posas are thankful that the Whittier community turned out for the event, and they are hopeful that the event was able to bring the community together after many students have expressed a feeling of disconnect after last school year’s tumultuous Spring semester. Landa-Posas added that the community gathering and the community contributions to the ofrendas made it feel “like we’re getting to know each other in our community.”
Photo Courtesy of Jacob Perez / Quaker Campus
