Día de Muertos celebrated in School of Modern Languages

The School of Modern Languages marked Día de Muertos in the traditional way with students and staff coming together to decorate an ofrenda.

Día de Muertos - "Day of the Dead" - is a traditional Mexican holiday at which family members and friends who have died are remembered. The holiday is usually marked on the first or second day of November. 

One of the traditions most commonly associated with the holiday is the setting up of an ofrenda or altar. The decorations for the ofrenda include a number of customary elements, including flowers and pictures of the deceased. 

Liliana Chávez Díaz, from the School of Modern Languages, and Patricia López Sánchez Cervantes, from the School of Art History, led a workshop at which students and staff made paper marigolds and other decorations for the ofrenda. Patricipants then decorated the ofrenda which this year features pictures of women writers and artists, including Rosario Castellanos, Franki Raffles, Octavia E. Butler, Yayoi Kusama, Elena Garro, and Frida Kahlo.

Having decorated the ofrenda, students and staff shared traditional Pan de muerto and Mexican hot chocolate.

See the Wikipedia article for more information about the tradition of decorating an ofrenda.