Day of the Dead Comes to SLO Campus

Dia de los Muertos – the Mexican observance known as Day of the Dead – is coming to Cuesta.  A workshop on the holiday took place on October 13, and the celebration, complete with ceremonial altars, is slated for Monday, November 1, and Wednesday, November 3, in the Student Center Courtyard.

A holiday with a complex history, Day of the Dead is not a morbid occasion but rather, a time of festivity.  The original ritual can be traced to many Mesoamerican native traditions, including the Aztec month of Miccailhuitonli, ritually presided by the Lady of the Dead.  Activities usually consist of families welcoming dead family members into their homes and visiting graves of close relatives.  At gravesites, families spruce up the area, decorating it with colorful flowers and enjoying picnics that include a special egg-batter bread (pan de muerto, or bread of the dead).   Dia de los Muertos, in fact, is an important social ritual recognizing the cycle of life and death.  Participants believe the souls who have passed on actually return to take part in the remembrance. 

The Cuesta altars will honor both individuals and groups who have passed but whose lives are being memorialized and celebrated.