As pungent incense spiraled up into the evening sky, dancing
UCLA students with painted faces celebrated the lives of their
loved ones who have died.
Every element of the event, from the incense ““ called
“kopal” and native to Mexico ““ to faces
half-painted in the image of skeletons, UCLA students and alumni
celebrated DÃa de los Muertos, the traditional Mexican holiday
devoted to the dead.
While many may associate death with sadness and mourning, those
celebrating the evening in Bruin Plaza on Thursday night were
joyful and excited with the prospect of remembering their loved
ones with fondness and tequila.
Traditionally, DÃa de Los Muertos is celebrated throughout
the first two days of November, but the student group hosting the
event, Grupo Folklorico de UCLA, decided to move the date back to
accommodate students who had midterms and similar academic
engagements.
A group made up of UCLA students, alumni and friends, members of
Grupo Folklorico de UCLA said they aim to educating students on
campus about Mexican culture through traditional folk dancing and
special events.
The DÃa de los Muertos celebration was just one such event
that showcased the unique twist Mexican culture takes on death.
“We’re the only culture that talks about death
without fear. … We dance with it; we drink with it; we sleep with
it; we brag about it,” said Marciela Romero, a fifth-year
doctoral student in UCLA School of Dentistry and member of the
group.
That unconventional take on death permeated the festivities as
members of the dance group assembled an altar with grinning skulls
made of sugar and bottles of tequila, knowing that is what their
loved ones would have wanted.
For many Mexicans, DÃa de los Muertos is about reuniting
families and friends to talk about the passing of loved ones and
essentially “have a party for them, to let them know you
haven’t forgotten them,” Romero said.
The highlight of the night was the folk dancing done by the
group members, who donned colorful authentic costumes and
black-and-white skeletal face paint.
“We paint our faces so that you are not able to tell who
is dead and who is alive,” said Efrain Trujillo, a
fourth-year political science student and coordinator for Grupo
Folklorico.
Those celebrating DÃa de los Muertos believe that
throughout the night, the dead come back to visit and partake in
the dancing and drinking.
The holiday is an amalgam of indigenous and Catholic traditions,
with every detail holding some sort of significance.
The yellow color of the marigold flowers strewn across the
McClure Stage were an ancient symbol of light, while images of the
Virgen de Guadalupe and different saints speak to beliefs regarding
the afterlife.
While the festivities were largely upbeat, those participating
could not overlook somber social and political realities.
Upon the altar, members of the group placed information and
photos about the Women of Juarez, a phenomenon referring to the
high amount of unexplained disappearances among Mexican women
living in border towns, said Gil Alcaraz, who currently goes to
East Los Angeles College and plans to attend UCLA next year.
Alcaraz also helped put together mementos such as bullets and
dog tags to commemorate the soldiers who have died in the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
Somber remembrance and joyful celebration went hand-in-hand, and
those participating in the festivities rarely think of it as a
paradox.
“It’s a beautiful time to come together. … You
enjoy life and know that one day you’ll be remembered like
this,” Alarcaz said, adding that even the face paint is a
reminder that one day everyone will be reduced to bones.
The event did “a good job” of showcasing the folk
dances and teaching others about a different take on death, said
attendee Alondra Aguayo, a fourth-year sociology and Chicana/o
studies student and vice president of the Latin American Students
Association.