By Beatriz Fernandez
Published: November 02, 2009

By Beatriz Fernandez
Daily Titan Staff Writer

On most days, death is something to be feared. People usually grieve for the deceased and have a difficult time accepting the loss.

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a time for people to celebrate the lives of those who have passed.

On Monday, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) celebrated the holiday in front of the Humanities Building.

A student played an acoustic guitar as members of MEChA sang songs specifically for Dia de los Muertos.

Two altars were set up with pictures and bread on them, and the smell of burning incense made for a spiritual ambiance.

“It’s a very spiritual and ritualistic event that is very different from Halloween,” said history major Andy Olea.

People walked by the altars and were attracted by platters of free sweet bread and MEChA members walking around with their faces painted like skulls.

The members were more than happy to answer questions that people walking by had about the event and Dia de los Muertos. “We want to bring awareness to the day and explain that today is not a Mexican Halloween. It’s our roots, and we just want to honor the lives of those who have passed. Halloween doesn’t do that,” Olea said.

“We celebrate Dia de los Muertos to find the funny side of death,” said criminal justice major Isabel Gomez.

“It’s just a big party that people like to celebrate. It’s not meant to be a sad day,” said Erandi Oropeza, a criminal justice major.

Every year on Nov. 1 and 2 people celebrate the Day of the Dead by visiting deceased loved ones in the cemetery. Family members clean the grave and spend time at the site praying and singing.

The celebration dates back over 3,000 years with the Aztecs worshiping the souls of those who passed. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on All Souls Day, Nov. 2, in respect to the Catholic religion.

The Spanish invasion brought about changes in the way the Aztecs celebrated certain traditions, and crosses and prayers were incorporated to avoid the Spanish ending such traditions.

Nov. 1 is known as Dia de los Inocentes, or Day of the Innocent, and is meant to honor infants and young children who passed away. The next day is Dia de los Muertos which celebrates the life of adults.

Many people spend most of Nov. 2 at the cemetery and also set up an altar in their home to honor dead loved ones.

“The altar consists of three layers. The top layer represents the sky and usually has a picture of the person. The second layer represents the area between the land of the dead and the living and usually had candles to show the soul of the dead family member to the altar and food. The lower level represents the Earth and usually has favorite foods of the deceased along with water,” Oropeza said.

Victoria Ramirez, a Chicana/o studies major, mentioned that every family has a different way of celebrating the Day of the Dead but that the general idea is to show that family members still remember the deceased and welcome their soul into their home.

Hermanas Unidas also had an altar he set up to celebrate the lives of women who lost their lives to breast cancer. The altar had pictures of family members who had passed away along with four calaveras, skulls, that represented the four stages of a woman’s life: the young girl, young adult, woman and mature woman.

“We just want to let people know that Dia de los Muertos is not only a Mexican tradition; Central and South American countries celebrate it too,” said Christina Diaz, a child development major.