Golden flowers and colorful tissue paper cut-outs line the altar set up by Santa Maria High School students to remember fallen alumni and school staff.
The students are from the CE’ENI club, and they celebrated Dia de los Muertos with their altar, which contained photos of those who’ve passed and food such as corn and bananas. The group’s name is an acronym for the Spanish translation of Educational Student Collective of Indigenous Nations, but it’s also a Mixteco word that means “their children.”
The group formed because students wanted to promote the cultural and linguistic pride of Latino indigenous roots, which they did with the celebration of Dia de Los Muertos.
“Many indigenous people believe that our loved ones never leave us, even after death. The altar pays tribute to them with photos, fruit, bread, and other items as a ‘welcome home’ and ‘thank you for visiting’ gift,” said Elizabeth Cortez, the club’s advisor, in a press release.
The group hopes to empower students on the Santa Maria High campus as well as share their customs and traditions with teachers and staff. Dia de Los Muertos is a tradition that goes back thousands of years and is a commemoration of life and death, honoring ancestors, family, and friends who have passed.
“It’s important to keep our culture alive because some students are embarrassed about where they come from, or sometimes don’t even know about how beautiful our traditions are. We want everyone to know this is who we are,” said Isabel Morales Ventura, a senior and vice president of the club, in a press release.
CE’ENI President Kimberly Gomez said in the release that students decided to dedicate the altar to the high school’s teachers, students, and staff because “they were once part of our lives, and they will never be forgotten. Santa Maria High will always remember them.”
The altar supplies were funded by a grant for Youth Making Change, a teen-led grant program that awarded the club $3,000 last school year.
This article appears in Nov 6-13, 2014.