Students experience Hispanic tradition at Día de Muertos celebration

KOKOMO, Ind. - Indiana University Kokomo students immersed themselves in Hispanic culture by attending the Día de Muertos Community Celebration at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis.

It was the first Kokomo Experience and You (KEY) trip offered by the Library.

"We wanted to do something that students from a lot of disciplines could participate in," said Martha Barker, assistant librarian and library collections coordinator. "I wanted the students to have fun, see this celebration, and have the opportunity to visit the museum."

Día de Muertos, also called Day of the Dead, is a holiday with roots going back thousands of years to indigenous traditions in Mexico. According to tradition, the gates of heaven open at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours, while the spirits of adults may return on November 2. Families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink, and celebration.

Freshman Grace Casey chose to attend to experience a culture new to her.

"I've never experienced anything like celebrating the Day of the Dead before, and I wanted to see all of it in person," said Casey, a new media, art, and technology major from Indianapolis. She especially found the display of ofrendas, or altars of offerings to honor loved ones who have died, to be impactful.

"Seeing those memorials to family members who had passed was more heart wrenching than I thought they would be, especially since I didn't know them," she said.

She practiced her Spanish by listening to a bilingual performance, and toured the rest of the museum, which has a mission to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the art, history, and cultures of the indigenous peoples of North America and of the American West.

"I like how diverse IU Kokomo's experiences are," Casey said. "This trip gave us the chance to experience new cultures and learn about their people."

It was a learning experience for Barker also, who didn't have a lot of background knowledge on Día de Muertos before leading the trip.

Her favorite part was the Desfile de Catrinas, or Catrina Parade, featuring people in skeleton make up and fancy dresses.

"There was all different kinds of attire," she said. "It was interesting to see the outfits and the creative spin each person put on their outfit. I liked seeing the different kinds of dresses. There were some traditional dresses and some who took the traditional dress and made it a bigger thing."

It also provided an opportunity for students to visit a museum most had never been to before, she said.

"I've lived in Indiana for a while now and had never heard of it," she said. "This is a great chance for students to learn something new that's available to them not too far from campus."

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