JAMAAL WAIREGI, Staff Writer—
The Roost lit up last Saturday as marigolds and fabrics draped the walls, and food and music lit up the atmosphere. Denison’s La Fuerza Latina held Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, to celebrate those who have passed on in students’ lives and embrace life and death.
“We celebrate our dead ones, we remember them,” says member Dayanara Aguirre ‘23, “in our ofrenda… we have a candle, which guides the soul of the spirits of the deceased. We put out their favorite foods, decorations, marigolds… in honor of them.”
“I guess [the way that] we would see it is that this is the one day out of the year where they come to the land of the living,” says member Anais Salinas ‘22. “They’re here in spirit.”
One notable observation in the Day of the Dead is how Mexican culture views death relative to other cultures.
“It’s viewed as a celebration, not like a day of sorrow or mourning,” Salinas said. “You celebrate them, whereas [in] other cultures death is usually seen as something negative… here, it’s a celebration.”
La Fuerza Latina put the event together in order to give students a sense of home and other students a new experience.
Aguirre explains, “[Since] it is a tradition that most Latinos do partake in… we like to have this to remind people of home… it’s kind of like… our Halloween, and it’s a way to bring the community together.”
“I think that having organizations like La Fuerza… brings forth acceptance,” member Fabiola Avila ‘22 says, “because having events like this… helps bring that sense of acceptance and, you know, belonging at a PWI. La Fuerza is a pretty inclusive space, so, Latino or not Latino, we welcome people with open arms.”