El Día de los Muertos

Spanish teacher Esthela Rojas and the Spanish Department recently shared a special tradition with the SES community: El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Mrs. Rojas says, "El Día de los Muertos is a celebration of the life of the deceased. On this day, the community joins together to share memories about their loved ones. We celebrate with food, drinks, and visiting the graves of our departed. We recognize death as a natural part of the human experience."

To celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Mrs. Rojas and the Spanish Department displayed an Ofrenda/Altar de Muertos in the library, complete with student artwork and photos of deceased loved ones. Seventh grade students recreated an Ofrenda in a shoe box dedicated to their loved ones (please click the headline for more photos), and Mrs. Rojas' Spanish 3 Honors class also created barriletes (kites) that are traditionally made in Guatemala to celebrate the Day of the Dead. This tradition has been practiced by Maya communities in the Central Highlands of Guatemala over the last two centuries. Smaller kites decorate graves in the cemeteries as a means to communicate with the ancestors; listening to the sound of the wind in the tissue paper of the kites allows the families to maintain peaceful quiet.

Thank you to Mrs. Rojas and the Spanish Department for sharing a beautiful tradition with the SES community.