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Students bring 'Dead' to life
Virginia Le Roux, who teaches English as a second language, helps Jennifer Castillo, 11, demonstrate a chocolate mixing tool while standing in front of the Day of the Dead altar at Hedrick Middle School Thursday. Mexican festival gives kids a different look at Halloween By DAMIAN MANN Day of the Dead, a scary sounding Mexican holiday, is not so scary after all, students at Hedrick Middle School discovered Thursday. A less commercialized version of Halloween, "El Dia de los Muertos," celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2, is a way that people in Mexico honor their dead relatives. To bring this day alive for Hedrick students, Virginia Le Roux, who teaches English as a second language, helped create an "ofrenda," an altar that is decorated with everything from skeletons to flowers. "Altars are created all over the country - this is the Mexican way of honoring the dead," said Le Roux. On the altar, Le Roux and her students placed objects found in Mexico, such as pictures, statutes of Aztec gods and toys. They even put a photograph of the World Trade Center towers, portraying the loss of life from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Jennifer Castillo, 11, explained to non-Hispanic students the importance of the holiday in Mexico, where people create a special bread for the dead - "pan de los muertos." Although Castillo doesn't celebrate the holiday as much in America, she said that in Mexico, "we have a festival. We say prayers and remember the dead, bringing their favorite foods. We eat with them and we talk to them." Castillo said her family, which owns El Gallo Mexican Supermarket, is especially busy this time of the year making bread of the dead by hand. Le Roux said the first day of the celebration is devoted to honoring children, the second to adults. In Mexico, people follow processions to cemeteries, where they clean up graves, hold a feast and spend the night communing with loved ones. The festive nature of the holiday, which predates the arrival of Christianity in Mexico, contrasts with most gloomy representations of death in North America, Le Roux said. Friends and relatives actually hope to raise the spirits of the dead, so they can share the many offerings they have brought. Many believe the spirits savor the smell and tastes of the food, even if they don't actually eat it. Candies fashioned in the shape of skulls, skeletons and open coffins are found throughout stores in Mexico. Le Roux passed out little candy skulls to the students so that they, too, would remember "El Dia de los Muertos." Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com |
