Dia de Los Muertos

by John Buchanan

Here at Cal Poly we have several campus-wide events and celebrations that UHS staff and students participate in, one such event is Dia de Los Muertos. The campus-wide Dia de Los Muertos festival is held every year in late October or early November to honor various cultures, groups, and individuals. Dia de Los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, is day that loved ones and those who have passed return to the earth to be honored by those who are left in the world. A traditional festival includes music, food, and celebration, usually around a centralized alter. The Cal Poly festival is no exception, clubs, departments and organizations are invited to create personalized altars to honor various people or causes and the festival is filled with live music and food to highlight the idea of celebration and to entertain all in attendance, both living and dead.

Each year the Diversity & Multicultural committee (DMC) of UHS coordinates with various staff members to design, construct, and staff an altar at the festival. Altars over the years have honored historical figures of various movements, students who have pass in the UHS community, and this year t family members of UHS staff that have passed. This is my first year at Cal Poly and as chair of DMC I was tasked with guiding the creation and implementation of the UHS altar. DMC reached out to staff in UHS and our division to collect names of loved ones, pictures, and favorite food items so to invite and sustain the loved ones we would invite to visit our altar that day. DMC members also spend a great deal of time reading and researching the practices around building an altar so that we were intentional and respectful in our design. What I enjoyed most about this experience was the opportunity to learn about a tradition, Dia de Los Muertos, which I had never experienced. The culture and history of the festival is amazing and for me, I learn more than I could have ever imagined about the beliefs and values around the creation of an altar and how the practice has changed and developed over hundreds of years.

Here at Cal Poly we us the phrase “learn by doing” and for myself and the DMC that is what our altar was about. At every stage we were learning something new. We learned how to intentionally create the altar and why traditions like using marigolds was important. We learned more about our UHS family through hearing the stories of their loved ones and then taking that story and integrating it into our altar. Most importantly, we learned to show care for each other and our community. DMC strives to educate UHS staff about the impact that our life experiences have on us and how we impact others. Through the altar and Dia de Los Muertos festival we saw firsthand how even the smallest of actions we take to support each other can have a lasting impact.

Hopefully these snapshots and this story gives you a better view of the family with in UHS and the importance that our campus and UHS place on honoring the various identities and beliefs that come together to compose our community. Hope to see you at next year’s Dia de Los Muertos festival!