In honor of Dia de los Muertos, the Spanish department and its students created an Ofrenda to display in the main office foyer. 

What is Dia de los Muertos?

Dia de los Muertos is a yearly celebration of life and death in Latinx communities. It is believed the spirits of the dead return on this day to be with their loved ones. Its celebrated from November 1st to November 2nd. 

Dia de los Muertos has been taught and celebrated by Spanish teachers on a smaller scale with their students for many years, but with the arrival of our newest Spanish teacher, Sra. Collado, it has now become a wide-scale project.  

Who Came Up with The Ofrenda?

First, Sra. Rivera said , “Sra. Collado is a new teacher to the school and she came from another district where they would make a big Ofrenda with the whole Spanish department. The two of us thought it would be nice to make one together with our Spanish department,” 

Then, when speaking to Sra. Collado herself, she said, “I originally wanted to make a small Ofrenda here in the classroom, but I figured it’s a lot of hardwork and it’s going to come out so beautiful so why not display it? That’s when we came up with the idea to ask permission to display our Ofrenda in the main office. We wanted everyone to appreciate it and learn a little bit about the culture and the celebration.” 

Students and teachers filled the Ofrenda with sugar skulls, ceramic statues, and personal pieces.

Sra. Mills and Sra. Y. Rivera are two more teachers who played a role in the making of the Ofrenda.

To adorn the Ofrenda, students made marigold flowers, known in Mexico as “cempasúchil” or “flower of the dead ”, sugar skulls, infographics of celebrities who have passed away and picture frames for each one.  Teachers encouraged students to add their own pictures of loved ones and any other forms of memorabilia they wanted. 

The school has begun to see new cultural activities taking place everyday. Finally, when asked about the impact of the Ofrenda, Sra. Mills said, “The making of the Ofrenda created a positive cultural experiende by allowing students to share more about their culture than what you would learn in the classroom. It allowed for a deeper exposure to Spanish culture in an authentic way.”