Spanish Club
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Día de los MuertosSpanish Club Takes Field
Trip To Learn About Hispanic Holiday
By Staff Writer, Mark Chenoweth
The
Spanish Club went to Cleveland Oct. 26 to visit the La Gallería
Quetzàl, a small art gallery that had certain displays featuring art
pertaining
to the Latin American holiday known as Day of the Dead.
Sara
Holztman, senior president of the Spanish club, communication arts and Spanish
double major, said, “I’ve learned about and heard about the holiday in the
past, but it was interesting to see actual Mexican artwork that depicts the
holiday.”
The Day of the Dead or Día De Los Muertos in Spanish, held Nov. 1
and 2, honors family members that have died. According to Holtzman, “On Day of
the Dead, Latin Americans put up an altar, and then include candles, food,
marigolds, and chrysanthemums by the altar. The holiday emphasizes the
importance Latin Americans place on family.”
Associate
Professor of Spanish Julia Villaseñor said, “The Latin American perception of
death is much healthier than ours. We shield people from the reality of death,
where it is a much more open part of reality to Mexicans.”
Francisco
Espinosa, freshman psychology major, has experienced the holiday first hand. “At
my house, my mother put up an altar of one of her best friends and an uncle of
hers. You put on the altar the things that they liked—their favorite type of
food or drink.”
The
holiday, unlike some Americans may think, is a lively one with parades and
candy.
“You
can make funny rhymes about the people. It is supposed to be a funny day,” said freshman
Inaki Apaolaza. “The
main theme of the holiday is to not be afraid of the dead because one day, they
will come back to be with you,” Espinosa said. “I know that in villages, they
go to the graveyards, and stay all night and celebrate with their deceased
family. The ancestors are supposed to come back and party with the ones that
are alive.”
The
Day of the Dead display in the art museum in Cleveland is only one of many
events centered around Latin America this month in Cleveland. The events are to help
celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Villaseñor said, “We used to have a Hispanic Heritage Month and a chapel dedicated to it, but as chapel became more formulized and structured, there were things that Malone had previously scheduled in the weeks of Hispanic Heritage Month. There were spots open much later in months like January, but since those months weren’t close to Hispanic Heritage Month, we decided to stop it.” Holtzman sees it as a shame that more people aren’t aware of Hispanic Heritage month or the impact Latin America has had on the United States. “I don’t think many people on campus know about the Spanish population,” Holtzman said. “Our two cultures are much more interconnected than most people would believe or think.” |
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