Loved ones remembered on Dia de los Muertos M.E.Ch.A club hosts Day of the Dead event to educate campus about the culture

ANNA CLARK Features Editor @AnnaClarkReport

Dancers adorned in traditional Aztec garments and skeletal painted faces moved swiftly to the sound of drums to honor ancestors.

Last Thursday, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A) hosted an event to celebrate Day of the Dead, a holiday celebrated in Mexico from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. Part of the celebration was dedicated to missing college students in Mexico, according to members of the club.

Adviser of the M.E.Ch.A club Angelita Rovero said Day of the Dead is different from Halloween.

“That’s why the skeletons are laughing - because we are laughing at death and celebrating life,” Rovero said. “I think it’s important especially, because everywhere you turn, there is Day Of The Dead.”

M.E.Ch.A member Stephanie Cardenas said that the opening event was chosen to showcase culture and tradition.

“Starting off with the Aztec dancers is a representation of where we come from,” Cardenas said. “As Chicanos, we think, or other people think, that we don’t have history, but

However, Valdez said, there is going to be a platform for the people that couldn’t share their stories in the exhibit.

“The Film Club is going to be doing some documentaries with students, giving them the opportunity to tell their stories,”

Valdez said. “We are preparing a film festival on immigration that we will be having in the spring.”

Michael Breslow, 19, said that he loved the exhibit and was our history is deeply rooted in what the Aztec is.”

A colorful altar made by M.E.Ch.A students was displayed against one wall in honor of 43 college students that went missing in Mexico.

“When they were trying to figure out who to do the altar on, they felt connected to the fact that they were college students as well and to know that so much is going on in Mexico and nothing is being done about kidnappings and killings,” Rovero said.

Modern Language Department Chair Fernando Oleas said that he always looks forward to the Dia de los Muertos Celebration on campus.

“It is a cultural tradition, and it is very important to be reminded that this is the essence of the Latin American culture here in the United States,” Oleas said. “It is a moment to get together again and reunite ourselves and to understand where we come from and what is important to us in general.”

Melissa Robles, the Co-Chair of M.E.Ch.A, said that there is not enough emphasis of culture on campus.

“I don’t think that it’s celebrated or put on blast, so to speak, in such a way that everybody is able to learn about it and know about it,” Robles said.

Robles said that the best way for thankful for the risks his family took to provide a better life.

“My mom isn’t from the States. She immigrated when she was very young,” he said. “The fact that I was born in the States is kind of a miracle.”

Breslow said that his great grandparents, moved from place to place to have a better life.

“They escaped Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution,” Breslow said. “They ended up immigrating to Mexico. And created a clothing