Remembering those who have gone before us, in a manner that honors life, treasures and preserves culture, and celebrates relationships as a key part of many global cultures. For people of Mexican-American and Meso-American heritage, that day happens November 1-2 with Day of the Dead. In Anchorage, on November 2nd, the community comes together in food, dance, and showcase to experience the celebration of love and respect for the deceased.
At Tudor Elementary, we hosted learning sessions where communities members and artists taught us about the customs and language that accompany the holiday, and helped us gain an even deeper understanding. Preparation for this year’s event took several weeks, with over 100 students participating in the learning and understanding of this global holiday and the making of our altar for the City-wide event.
Students created painted canvases, hand crafted cempasuchil (Mexican marigolds), family memorials, poems, word art, and 3-D Calaveras (sugar skulls) for our ofrendas (altar). Several students even showcased the altar in engaged conversations with community members. Here is our final showcase.
In 2008 when UNESCO made Di De Los Muertos a global holiday it created a cultural reaffirmation of indigenous people. With the explosion of curiosity brought on by recent movies, “The Book of Life” and “Coco”, this holiday has gained popular recognition. Colors, vibrancy, and celebration are the key elements that make up the event.
Overall, the turnout this year was explosive and vibrant, and busier than the year prior. This celebration of global cultures is an awe inspiring opportunity that all people should witness. Hopefully you, too, will have an opportunity to partake in El Dia De Los Muertos.
Love the whole school involvement in this celebration. In addition, the blog post explains the celebration in a thoughtful manner, while showcasing how Tudor celebrated.
The city wide event is getting bigger and more engaging every year; I do hope that you are able to engage students in this. I have lots of books I can inter-library loan to you and you will have access to the slides presentation by the beginning of the school year.
El Dia De Los Muertos is often a misunderstood celebration. The power of global education to dispel myths. I appreciate how community members were invited to teach and help students gain a deeper understanding of the holiday. This celebration is truly a way to demonstrate love and respect to those who have come before us.
This is awesome. I have always been intrigued by Dia De Los Muertos since my 9th grade Spanish class. I do not know the resources to be able to host such an event at my school but I do plan on doing a mini Dia De Los Muertos lesson for the 19/20 school year. I plan on using the one book our library currently houses, a quick slideshow presentation, and some sort of simple art craft. I can’t wait!
I have all the resources you need! Check back at the beginning of the year for projects, ideas, resources, and a slide deck. I actually don’t host any at my school, other than opportunities for students to come design/make alters for people they care about (or pets) that they have lost or are still alive. We then use https://wordart.com/ to create the visuals. It is powerful to see what kids create. I then have a showcase station at the community event where students work is celebrated in art and poetry. Reach out if you are interested in doing this also
Oh Coco, bringing us all together for el Dia!
What a beautiful and creative way to honor and learn about family members and indigenous people who lived before us. This is a fantastic learning activity to demystify the natural life process. Congratulations to the students at Tudor Elementary School.