Academy Celebrates Día de los Muertos, “The Day of the Dead”

By JILLIAN CHENG, ELLINA KIM, LEON XIE, and JADE YOO

On Friday Nov. 1, Exonians gathered in Grainger Auditorium to celebrate the Indigenous holiday Día de Los Muertos , or the Day of the Dead, and Latiné festival. Throughout the venue, various booths representing different Latinx cultures provided snacks and activities for attendees. Grupo Gozarsa, a live Afro-Latin band was also present and enriched the atmosphere with salsa, cumbia, and bachata music, with many students choosing to take to the dance floor in the joyous atmosphere. 

The uniqueness of the Day of the Dead lies in its cheerful appreciation of those who’ve passed on. The event organizers consisted of members of La Alianza Latina (LAL), Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES), and Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCAA), as well as proctors in the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and Student Council’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee. All pitched in to make the celebration a special opportunity for students to relax, have fun, and learn a little about Latinx culture.

The OMA proctors, student volunteers, and JEDI in particular set up the ofrenda in the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center’s Agora. The ofrenda is an altar with a series of offerings placed in it to honor the dead who have passed before us.

“Pictures are used to help guide the souls of deceased loved ones back to the altar,” senior Danixza Pinto, the chairwoman of the Día de Los Muertos Latin festival committee, explained. “Marigold honors the dead and symbolizes the fleeting nature of life.”  The Flower Arranging Club helped sort through locally grown flowers to create a colorful and respectful composition, while other alums and students provided items such as sugar skulls and pictures of passed loved ones.

Día de Los Muertos holds great significance in the hearts of many on campus. Senior Mario Meneses, vice chair of the Día de Los Muertos Latin festival committee, shared, “At Exeter, Día de Los Muertos has become so much more than a holiday. It’s a celebration of Latin American culture that invites the entire campus community to share in the beauty of our heritage.” He mentioned that it added a lot to the community and sense of belonging within the Latinx community, saying, “As a prep, finding this tradition meant everything to me; it was an affirmation of my identity at a time when I barely knew any other Latinx students here. Now, as a senior who has watched this celebration evolve, I wanted to ensure that new students feel as welcomed and connected as I did.”

Pinto had planned Día de Los Muertos Latin festivals since her prep year. “At first, we had a very small budget and I used to paint people’s faces by hand and buy the supplies at Dollar Tree,” she said. As the years went on, the organization for the event became better, and so did the funding. 

Pinto worked hard behind the scenes since the beginning of fall term to organize this year’s event. “We met weekly on Mondays in OMA for about an hour, and we would have a daily agenda that I would create to make sure that everything got done before the event,” she said.

Pinto added that the event was almost completely student run, and all the services were discovered by the students: “The live band I found last year on Facebook and I emailed them, and that’s how they were hired. I met the face painter at the Exeter farmer’s market and I really loved how she painted faces because she’s so skilled and she’s also really fast.”

This year, the event was especially important for application season among prospective students. “Since this year we had an admissions fly-in program, there were prospective students at the event. We had to show them a really authentic and well put-together experience of what Exeter diversity could look like,” she said.

For boarding students, the festivities of such an important holiday being far from home can be difficult for those coming from a Latinx background. Lower Dani Méndez explained her Día de Los Muertos experience at Exeter after having previously celebrated it at home: “Missing such an important time in my Méxican culture because I’m at Exeter is definitely not easy, since I can’t really celebrate the way I normally would. Being surrounded by family, sharing stories, and celebrating the lives of loved ones are key components to the tradition.” 

Méndez also expressed appreciation for all the work the event organizers put in, saying, “I’m grateful for our Latino Festival and the Ofrenda in EPAC, as the music, decor, and people provide a small taste of home.” The affinity groups at Exeter have, as a whole, made students from a vast array of backgrounds more comfortable at school, and this November’s Day of the Dead event was another success in this endeavor.

For Méndez, the live band added to the high-spirited ambiance of the night. “My favorite part was the live band! I spent a lot of the night teaching other people how to dance salsa and taking anybody I could out for a dance! The musicians themselves were from Latino origins, and their talents were outstanding. Their lively presence at the event made it such a wonderful time and took me right back to the mainly Latino city in New Jersey that I call home.”

Behind the dance floor were around ten booths representing different dominantly Latinx countries, like Argentina, Ecuador, and more. These booths provided education about Latinx culture and also added to the diversity of the event.

The accommodations of the event were of great interest to attendees less familiar with the customs of Día de Los Muertos. For lower Marc Viscogliosi, the diverse food and music were definitely worth going for. “The salsa was really fun! They had a band play live music, and some of us danced to it. Farther back in the room, there were about ten different tables where people ate the food the organizers set out. There were tons of cultural dishes, like the sugar-decorated candies associated with Día de Los Muertos and the Mexican hot cocoa. All of it was managed by people who came from places with strong Hispanic roots.” 

The event attracted many Exonians who were willing to help out with setup, which contributed heavily to the amount of cultural representation that was possible that evening. For some, like senior Mari Chaparro, it was even a chance to get more involved with the holiday and impart a little knowledge about her family history to curious attendees. 

Chaparro said of the event: “I loved it! Everything was so well organized, the [salsa band was] fantastic, the food was delicious, and seeing everyone dance was a highlight. ”

While Chaparro doesn’t traditionally celebrate Día de Los Muertos, she still ran the Colombian booth at the event. “I enjoyed sharing Colombian culture with everyone, talking about our traditions, and recommending the best snacks for people to try,” she said. “There was such a great variety of food, which made it fun to wander around the booths and try different things.”

Compared to last year, the event was moved from Thompson Gym to Grainger Auditorium, as Grainger is no longer a dining hall. Attendees of the event had mixed opinions toward the shift.

Meneses added that there was room for improvement if they “had a few more hands to help with the setup. On the day of the event, there were other events such as the EAR concert and Student Council’s Dorm Capture the Flag, which “made things a bit hectic.” He noted, “a few extra helpers could have made a big difference in making the event run even more smoothly”.

“My only hope is that we maybe return to having it in Thompson Gym, where it was last year, as the larger space invited many more Exonians,” Méndez shared.  

However, Chaparro appreciated the move to Grainger. “Last year’s event in Thompson Gym was wonderful, but Grainger had this cozy, festive atmosphere that made everything feel even more special,” she said.

“We’re always open to feedback,” Pinto added. “I always have surveys where people could fill out if they enjoy their experience or if they have anything that they want to add. I feel like there’s enough organization that next year’s committee will be able to just continue and work off of that so that hopefully it can keep on going.”

Meneses described that “the planning team has grown remarkably.” Last year, the planning team only consisted of Pinto, Rowan Flannigan, Meneses, and a few other volunteers. However, this year, there was “tremendous support from STUCO’s JEDI Committee, ALES, LAL, SOCCA, and a lot more involvement from OMA.” 

He reflected, “Being part of this growing group has been an incredible experience, and I’m hopeful that the tradition will continue to thrive long after Danixza and I graduate.”

Meneses summed up this year’s Día de Los Muertos festivities by simply saying, “This year’s event was a joy. The energy was high, the food was delicious, and the decorations looked great. Seeing so many people come together to celebrate was amazing.” 

The product of the organizers’ hard work was an amazing sight to see during this Día de Los Muertos and Latiné festival. The great food, skilled salsa band, and chance for goers to dance gave the event a rich, authentic feel, and it was heartening to see a holiday so important in Latinx culture celebrated proudly at Exeter.