Over the last week, Westridge honored Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) through a family celebration as well as a variety of activities hosted across campus including creating an altar and sharing Mexican sweet bread with the community.

Kicking off the celebrations, our Latinx parent affinity group, La Comunidad Latinx at Westridge, hosted its third annual Día de los Muertos celebration last week in the Alumnae Courtyard. Families set up a Día de los Muertos ofrenda (altar) with photos of their loved ones and symbolic items such as marigolds and enjoyed each other's company with food, lively music, face painting, and rousing games of Lotería (a game of chance similar to bingo).

The parent group shared that the beautiful part of this holiday is how it ties together multiple generations. "When students witness their parents attending an event to respectfully celebrate their ancestors, it reinforces the value of their unique cultural identity," said Jennifer Gutierrez Dague, parent of Audrey '31.

On Thursday, the entire Westridge community shared pan de muerto (Mexican sweet bread), an annual celebration hosted by the World Languages and Cultures department, various faculty members, and students from the Latine Affinity and Latine Alliance, per Upper School Spanish Teacher and Department Chair Vicki Garrett. Later in the day, our Spanish Honors Society, Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, hosted a papel picado workshop, which entailed cutting elaborate designs into tissue paper.

In the Main Hall, Upper School Spanish Teacher Bonnie Martinez's Spanish Literature class put together an ofrenda (pictured on the right). Students selected and researched Spanish-language literary figures who have passed away to create an altar with appropriate offerings. They chose literary figures such as Chilean poet and diplomat Gabriela Mistral, Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik, and Colombian novelist and short story writer Gabriel García Márquez. They also collaborated with the STEAMWork Design Studio and its coordinator, Mick Lorusso, to laser-cut traditional papel picado in the form of their chosen figure. Be sure to stop by the altar to read more about the people students chose to research and honor!

Click here to see photos from the celebration and activities.

What is Día de los Muertos? This holiday, which translates to Day of the Dead, is typically celebrated on November 1 and 2. It is meant to honor loved ones who have passed away and is recognized predominantly in Mexico, Central America, and many cities throughout the United States. Families set up an ofrenda generally consisting of the loved one's favorite food, items to represent them, marigolds, papel picado, and more.