The dead will be celebrated at Memorial Park in Chula Vista Nov. 1 for the second annual High Tech High Dia de los Muertos community celebration.
More than 300 students have worked together with OnStage Playhouse to bring the student- run Muertos festival to life, and they expect as many as 2,000 people to attend the free event.
“Seeing everything coming together is great,” said Zoe Smith, a sophomore at High Tech and one of the logistical leaders behind the event. “It’s one thing to plan, but then to actually have it play out is really exciting for us.”
The event will feature carnival games made by students, face painting, a Dia de los Muertos procession, mariachi and student performances. The celebration will also include the traditional Dia de los Muertos alters.
Dia de los Muertos has roots in the Catholic holidays All Souls Day and All Saints Day which were celebrated as far back as the fourth century. The holiday celebrates the lives of dead loved ones rather than mourning them and often includes resurrecting the memory of loved ones with dedicated alters.
“It’s not like Halloween where everybody celebrates just to celebrate, basically,” said Smith. “It’s a more traditionalized and more culturalized holiday that a lot of Latin cultures celebrate. And they celebrate their loved ones through alters and things that represent their life and what they loved.”
La Calavera Catrina is the image most commonly associated with the holiday, a woman’s skeleton in aristocratic clothing and hat, often with her male companion. La Catrina was created by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada in the early 20th century.
La Catrina was created as a symbol of Mexican nationalism, but now she is synonymous with Dia de los Muertos, which is celebrated throughout many parts of Central and South America.
“We’ve been looking at the different cultural components of what Dia de los Muertos is,” said Marisol Franco, a High Tech Spanish teacher who helped spearhead the project. “What’s the cultural significance behind building the alters?
What’s the cultural significance behind celebrating the life of those who have passed away? It’s not necessarily a religious event or something that’s tied to any one belief system. It’s more of a cultural way of showcasing Mexican traditions and the holiday that’s celebrated throughout Central America.”
In addition to the cultural and artistic education, the festival gives students firsthand experience at putting on a large event and working within a budget and deadline, which promotes leadership skills and community activism.
“We just work on trying to get all of the background stuff, permitting, funding,” said Lisa Davis, High Tech High’s community partnerships director. “The students develop all of the features of the event and they really drive what that’s going to look like.”
“Our young people are not being utilized in their community and they can really be change-makers,” Davis added.
“And it really doesn’t take a lot of money. It just takes time and commitment to mentor them. The success of these events is directly attributed to them.”
“It’s better to celebrate rather than being sad, and I honestly like that perspective much better,” said Smith.
“It’s just much happier and you kind of appreciate your loved one’s life more.”
