Arkansas State University observed Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, this year with festivities and celebrations meant to honor the dead.

For students, the events began Nov. 1 with activities taking place in the foyer of the Reng Student Union. Students painted ceramic skulls, had their faces painted in the style of calaveras and gave gifts and notes to the departed on an altar known as an ofrenda. According to Student Activities Board Representative Natan Gomez, a senior biotechnology major from Irapuato, Mexico, in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, Day of the Dead celebrations are individualized and deeply personal to each family. 

“Each family will create their own altar or ofrenda,” Gomez said. “They will honor those who have passed away by putting plates like their favorite food, their favorite objects and some candles to lead the way into the next life.”

On Nov. 2, the A-State Museum hosted a Day of The Dead event open to the public, their first since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Museum staff showed people how to create marigold flowers out of tissue paper, create and decorate cut-out masks and how to sing a traditional Mexican Day of the Dead song.

 The museum’s old town square exhibit included costumed individuals portraying dead townsfolk. 

The museum also hosted its own ofrenda and encouraged the public to display pictures of their lost loved ones for everyone to see.

“Anybody who comes in, if they bring a picture of a lost loved one, we welcome them to set that on the ofrenda,” said the museum’s Director of Education Jill Kary. “This way everyone can see their loved one.”

The museum worked with El Centro Hispano in Jonesboro to put on this event for the purpose of cultural education. El Centro Hispano is a non-profit in the Jonesboro community that helps in “addressing Hispanic cultural participation and assimilation into the surrounding communities,” according to their website. This event was part of their ongoing push for better cultural education in the surrounding area.

“Diversity is good,” Kary said. “Bigotry doesn’t have any room in your heart if you understand other cultures.”

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