The Mendocino College Ukiah campus held its sixth annual Día de Los Muertos celebration on Wednesday in Pomo Plaza, bringing together people from the community to help celebrate the dead as well as traditional culture, dancing and arts.
The holiday has its origins in the pre-Hispanic period, and in 2003 UNESCO proclaimed it an Intangible Culture Heritage. It is celebrated throughout Mexico, particularly in the Southern and Central parts, and is now part of America’s celebrations.
Around 400 people were in attendance and milling about, taking in the dancing, Papel Picado, and the food, necklaces, anklets, and bracelets available to buy. Different programs in the school, including the counseling program, a sociology class, ESL, and veterans had tables set up inside with altars that featured memorials, pictures, food, and personal objects honoring those who had died and are coming back.
People build altars and place on them items that departed family and friends loved the most. No one is allowed to touch objects because the objects are for the dead, but once the dead return to the underworld, the family and friends can then share the food offerings laid out.
“The main focus is the altars, coming together, putting it together, remembering people,” said Juvenal Vasquez, one of the organizers.
Vasquez, Leticia Trejo, and Yolanda Vazquez are the main organizers of the event, and one of their goals is bringing together people in the area to help celebrate traditional music, dancing and culture.
Trejo says that the day also gives lots of non-Hispanics the chance to learn about the culture and why this is an important event. She believes that the excitement from the community is there, and one of the main focuses in the future is to get more people in the community to come and visit the college.
“We are hoping to make it more community-wide,” Trejo said. “This is a time where a lot of the Hispanic community comes together. It’s a good spot to share resources that are out in the community.”
Trejo says that because they got a late start planning the event, they weren’t able to invite as many programs and agencies as they would have liked. In the future, they hope to have other information tables available that include people from the nursing program to provide blood pressure checks and people from the Mendocino Community Health Clinic to provide medical advice.
Juvenal Vasquez says the process to put together the event took about two months and included clubs, students and other people in the community and involved brainstorming ideas with a committee. The committee then divided responsibilities and came up with ways that people could help contribute. Anyone who wants to learn more or donate to help fund the event can contact the Mendocino County Foundation.
When they first started the event six years ago, they had around 200 people, and have since grown to include more activities and people who come from as far as Willits and Lake County. He says it is now one of the biggest Day of the Dead celebrations in the area because it brings together the Mendocino College faculty and students as well as people in the area.
All three say they see it growing as more people learn about it through social media and word of mouth, and they hope that people and programs in the community come and find out more.
“It’s good to come together and share our culture, our values, and I can still see it grow,” Vasquez said.
