In the U-High lobby stands an altar adorned with fragrant gold marigolds, vibrant multicolored paper cutouts, rows of decorated sugar skulls and framed photos commemorating deceased loved ones, spreading joy to passing students and adults.
To celebrate Día de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, Latinos Unidos and La Familia members have put together an ofrenda, honoring loved ones and celebrating the culture.
According to Sari Hernández, Latinos Unidos faculty adviser, students chose to make this ofrenda public to contribute to Lab’s mission of honoring diversity and making more identities feel seen. She said it makes school feel more like a home.
“Since we have such diversity within students, that different student groups can make this space feel more like home,” Ms. Hernandez said.
While the ofrenda is immediately visible when walking into the U-High building this year, it was not always this way, and this change can be attributed to the students.
“My first year here at Lab, the ofrenda was a lone student desk shoved in like a little spot in the café, and now we’re at a two-table-long, multi-tiered, all-division ofrenda,” Ms. Hernández said. “It’s all because of the students.”
This ofrenda is also public so that all community members have a space to celebrate life and death, Ms. Hernandez said. For students and faculty outside the Latinx community, this ofrenda presents an opportunity to connect with a culture outside of their own and to celebrate death from a different viewpoint.
“For people who either it’s their first time engaging with an ofrenda or if it’s not something that is their culture but they’re leaning into this with us, that they’re having their first moment of ‘Yeah we’re gonna think about our loved ones that have passed, but it’s a celebration,’ and we all have death in some way.”
The ofrenda connects the community by presenting a learning opportunity, whether that is getting to experience someone’s culture different from your own or getting to hear about a peer’s loved one who has died.
“We get to know a bit about each other,” Ms. Hernandez said. “For the students who contribute, there’s a really nice moment of talking about the people that you’re putting on the ofrenda, getting to know a bit about someone’s uncle.”
Many meaningful elements are present on the ofrenda to commemorate and celebrate the dead, each adding a unique detail. Some of these items include marigolds (cempasúchil), sugar skulls, favorite foods, pan de muerto, candles and paper cutouts (papel de picado).
