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</p><p>Vibrant聽<i>ofrendas</i>, a formal procession with traditional Aztec<b>聽</b>dancers and candlelit evening remembrances. These were all part of the聽<a href=" de los Muertos</a>聽celebrations that took place over three days across the 快活林性息 campus, where students, staff, and community members remembered loved ones who have died. Multiple聽<i>ofrendas聽</i>went up all around the campus, including the聽<a href=" Library</a>, which partnered with Chicana/o Studies (CHS) students and faculty to build it.</p>
<p>On Nov. 1, the University Student Union (USU) set up a community聽<i>ofrenda</i>, filled with paper marigolds, candles, photos, the festive tissue-paper banners known as聽<i>papel picado</i>, and other handmade decorations. For more background on ofrendas, check out聽<a href=" story on ofrendas.</a></p>
<p>H. Landeros, a student assistant in the USU’s Pride Center, built the ofrenda聽inside the Sol Center. On Nov. 3,聽Landeros and other organizers hosted a free program in the Plaza del Sol, where they played music and handed out free tamales, coffee, and candy. They also distributed flyers for the beloved annual Dia de los Muertos event hosted by the Chicanx House on Plummer Street聽later that night.</p>
<p>The聽<i>Noche de Ofrenda,</i>聽or night of offering program, began with a procession from Jerome Richfield Hall to the Chicanx house, where students and staff in the College of Humanities Department of Chicana/o Studies and Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication’s Department of Art presented ofrendas and deeply personal art pieces.</p>
<p>Students and faculty from the Chicana/o studies department, in collaboration with the student organization聽El聽Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano聽de聽Aztlan (MEChA聽de 快活林性息), organized the event. Students and guests alike were invited to聽put pictures and offerings of their loved ones on the large community ofrenda to be blessed. One of the spectators, junior English major Maria Jimenez, slowly approached the tables and placed her things.</p>
<p>鈥淚 brought a photo of my聽<i>abuelita</i>, my grandmother. We were very close, and she passed away a few years ago,” Jimenez said. “She was a big supporter of my education, and I always miss her 鈥� so being able to honor her here at my university feels special. I also brought her a can of Sprite. [It was] her favorite.鈥�</p>
<p>The event lasted late into the evening, with participants making a constant stream through the Chicanx House and around its patio to admire the outdoor and indoor ofrendas and add items.</p>
<div>At the USU, “this ofrenda is more for representing our communities within the Pride Center, the DREAM Center, and the Veterans Resource Center,鈥� Landeros said. 鈥淔or the Pride Center, we chose to celebrate trans people and activists we have lost. We also wanted to include and remember murdered and missing indigenous women.鈥�</div>
<p>Before Landeros and other students聽<b></b>built the altar, the USU invited consultants in to teach about the importance of each element of an ofrenda,聽Landeros said. The consultants were the same ones who advised Pixar Animation and Walt Disney Pictures when they were making the 2017 hit movie “Coco.”</p>
<p>鈥淭he one rule they had was that you needed all of the elements. Earth, water, air, and fire,”聽Landeros said. “For earth, we made the marigolds and added succulents and moss. For water, we just placed glasses of water on there. For air, we made butterflies out of some material we already had available. And for fire, we had tealight candles.”</p>
Vibrant聽ofrendas, a formal procession with traditional Aztec聽dancers and candlelit evening remembrances. These were all part of the聽Dia de los Muertos聽celebrations...