By Noemi Orozco and Alejandrina Avila, Nov. 12, 2024
With handmade sugar skulls, paper marigolds and mariachi songs, Cal Poly Pomona’s César E. Chávez Center for Higher Education celebrated its 30th annual Día de los Muertos event Nov. 7.
The festivity took place the week after the two-day holiday, aiming to bring a night of remembrance and enjoyment to the university, offering attendees a moment of pause from the outside world through live music, face paint, grand altars and authentic food.
A performance and healing ritual by Aztec dancers in front of CECCHE’s building led off the ceremony. Dancers, club members and spectators made their way to the Bronco Commons to the thump of drums and shakes from rattles, while some carried giant paper-mache skeletons and a faux coffin as a symbol of the club’s ongoing mission for diversity, equity and inclusion at CPP.
Día de los Muertos, which translates to Day of the Dead, is a celebratory reunion between the living and the spirits of loved ones who have passed. For CECCHE’s retention coordinator, Javier Cañas, it serves as a reminder of the generational legacies that continue to inspire both his work and life.
“They’re part of our lives every day,” Cañas said. “Sometimes, with higher education, that could get blurred, so it’s important to remember those that have passed, their ancestors, but also see their reflection in how they guide us.”
The tradition originally comes from Mexico; however, thanks to globalization and its raise in the U.S. mainstream media, people have been observing the holiday more than ever before, according to axios.com. Cañas said preserving the celebration’s sacred history and indigenous origins is crucial as the celebration grows in popularity yearly.
“I think nowadays it’s really important, especially with how Día de Los Muertos has been commercialized, that people are not looking at the actual traditions and history that it has,” said Cañas. “It’s important that we’re intentional on how we celebrate the event.”
In doing so, Cañas and the rest of CECCHE’s student body ran various educational workshops leading up to the festival. One of those workshops was the Maker Space Week in which club members and participating students together created the quintessential symbols found in displayed altars, including paper cempasúchil flowers, sugar skulls and paper butterflies.
Workshops like this allow the Latino community members at CPP to learn how they celebrate the holiday with their families, further diversifying the event.
Beyond CECCHE, other Latino organizations at CPP participated in the event by vending for club fundraising; Hermanos Unidos held their annual taco sale, and Global Medical Brigades sold Mexican staples like pozole, tamales and champurrado.
“I think it’s really important to build community and show that we’re really supporting each other because we’re all part of a bigger picture,” said Angelina Valencia, a social justice leader at CECCHE. “We are helping each other for a greater cost.”
Music had a significant role in both ambiance and representation as Mariachi Los Broncos and Zapateando Del Corazón teamed to perform Día de Los Muertos classics “La Llorona” and “La Bruja.”
Mariachi Los Broncos member and music department student Alessies Avina also performed with his band onstage this year. The band, Grupo Sierreño, brought a new feel to the traditional holiday with banda music, a subgenre of regional Mexican music that mostly includes wind and percussion instruments.
“We play a lot of new music that’s been coming out lately because the specific genre has been really popping off the charts lately with artists like Peso Pluma,” Avina said. “We’ve just noticed that it’s taking on a whole new evolution because it appeals to everyone.”
For Valencia, embracing oneself in a different culture’s customs and traditions is vital to the college experience.
“University is an important part of people’s personal development”, Valencia said.”To be exposed to other cultures and types of people, get out of your bubble, and educate yourself on the world outside of the city you live in or the culture you grew up in.”
Feature image courtesy of Noemi Orozco
Video courtesy of Noemi Orozco and Ami Medina