Community members of Newman University celebrated Día de los Muertos on Nov. 6, where guests immersed themselves in rich cultural traditions while honoring the memories of their loved ones.
Día de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, is celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2 and dates back to the early 1500s. It combines the Aztec tradition of honoring ancestors with All Souls’ Day and is still celebrated in many Mexican households today.
Guests filled the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center for the evening event, where they perused handmade items for sale from local vendors and enjoyed activities like face painting, a photo booth, rosary making and a Lotería bingo game. Before and after an authentic Mexican dinner, guests sang along and danced to performances by a local mariachi band, folklorico and danza groups. The evening concluded in the chapel with a bilingual rosary to honor those who have died.
The event was organized by students of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO), Campus Ministry and the Campus Activities Board.
Melissa Arguijo, president of HALO, said planning for the Día de los Muertos event began in September.
“This event was an opportunity to share the experience of Day of the Dead and the significance of the holiday to our Catholic faith,” she said. “We hope guests left with full stomachs and a new appreciation for a holiday that is often misunderstood.”
Catholic homily reflects on life and death
Like many Newman University traditions, the big event began with the holy sacrifice of the Mass, offered by Father Ed Herzog in St. John’s Chapel.
“This memorial service and time to remember the dead reminds me of two fundamental desires I have as a human being,” Herzog said in his homily.
The first, he explained, is personal: “I don’t want to die.”
“I love life, I really do. Like you, there are some days where I like it more than others, but really, I’m scared of death,” he said. “I want to continue to savor in all the good things that life has to offer.”
The second desire is that he simultaneously doesn’t want to live forever.
“This is one of the things that became a concrete reality in my life last May when my father passed away, because I came to recognize that for me to live in this life forever would mean to live without him,” Herzog added.
Herzog shared the only way to make sense of both realities is to ponder Jesus’ death and his resurrection.
“Our hope is based on faith. Even in the midst of tragedy and loss … we too can see our hope is not in vain,” Herzog said. “Because it is built on our faith in Jesus Christ, who died and three days later rose from the dead.”
Carrying on loved ones’ memories
An ofrenda, which translates to “offering,” served as an altar for Newman community members to share photos of loved ones in Dugan leading up to and during the Día de los Muertos event.
First-year nursing student Yanitse Perez-Lopez of Wichita placed a framed photo of her two great-grandparents and great-aunt from Campeche, Mexico, on the ofrenda.
“They’re all from my dad’s side,” she explained of her pictured family members. “My great-grandpa lived to be 100 years old, and my great-grandma just passed away recently. She was a really nice lady — very funny and loved being around people and sharing about her life stories.”
Perez-Lopez will always remember that her great-grandparents stressed the importance of pursuing an education.
“Sadly, they weren’t able to do it themselves because of financial reasons, but I want to accomplish what I can as a nurse, so they can see what their kids and grandkids accomplish,” she said.
She described the Día de los Muertos event as a “very meaningful and thoughtful” gesture.
“It means a lot because it shows other people how much our culture means to us,” she said. “We want to remember all the people we love who we’ve lost and to honor them. It’s also thoughtful to bring people together who’ve experienced hard times and help celebrate their family members’ memory.”
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