Dia de los Muertos – A creative way to learn Spanish culture
While most students were dressed in Halloween costumes on October 31st, Spanish students were busy preparing for the event they had been anticipating for the past few months – Dia de los Muertos, or, Day of the Dead in English. This holiday is celebrated throughout Mexico and Latin America to honor lost friends or family and to support their spiritual journey. For students enrolled in Spanish courses this year, they were assigned to interpret what they had researched in an artistic way; more specifically, in one of three mediums—a drawing, painting, or sculpture. The students then compete on their creativity, aesthetics, quality, and overall proficiency of their research. This year’s celebration, however, was much more highlighted, as other schools– Concordia, Shanghai American School, and Soong Ching Ling School– also participated in the event. Each school, including SMIC-I, nominated their 5 finalists and presented their work.
In an interview with the organizers of this event, Mrs. Ariana Sanders and Ms. Anna Rodriguez, expressed their thoughtful insights on Dia de los Muertos and its relevancy to themselves. Ms. Rodriguez provided an explanation for the decorations saying, “We celebrate making altars–structures where certain objects are placed to honor the deceased. You can put food [there] that they loved, but most importantly some of the necessary elements, water, flowers, mirrors, and such.” She then emphasized SMIC-I’s association with the other schools, and focus on “how they interpret the Day of the Dead through art.” The art contest “[came] to their minds.” It motivated the students to “show their artistic skills,” and learn Spanish culture.
Selina Tai (12A) placed first in the art contest, had created an astonishingly beautiful sculpture inspired by Frida Kahl, with Recuerdame, a Spanish song that represents Mexicans and Latino Americans remembering ancestors and passed loved ones, integrated into her work. Selina commented, “I feel honored to place in [the] La Catrina Art Contest. I put in the music along with my sculpture because I wanted to match the joyful atmosphere of the Day of the Dead. Also, because this is the first time the Spanish department hosted this event, I’m very happy to be the first person to win.”
Performances were also presented at the Dia de los Muertos event. Nini Hu, a dancer from SCLS, stated that “[this event] is a different but incredibly creative way in learning a new culture, I enjoyed choreographing and presenting my dance.”
The overall event was a major success. Mrs. Sanders remarked, “The attendance for that day had been shocking, many teachers from SAS and [other international schools] had come to support not only the program, but their students and their efforts as well. I really appreciated it.” Ms. Rodrigues stated that there were “88 students total participating in this event, of 13 nationalities. Just imagine, 13 nationalities all representing only one aspect of a Latino American culture. I believe that Spanish is not only a language, but a culture. [I admired how we were] breaking these barriers of judging or disrespecting one culture; teaching discrimination should not be a part of celebrating a culture.”
However, every first event has challenges to overcome and improvements to be made. As Mrs. Sanders pointed out, “[there were difficulties in] how to make this fit for everyone, and open for as many schools, and also the coordination in time and scheduling— each school has different holidays and calendars.” Ms. Rodriguez also added that “It’s always a challenge when you say, ‘Okay, I made something very big, and it’s good,’ but you want to make it better next year. Through the process you have to think about how to make it big, how to make it something different from what other schools are doing. Then the details, the making of prizes, thinking about who’s going to come, thinking about the audience, the food; the logistics that is coordinated with the reception of artwork, it’s a big challenge overall.”
Dr. Ridings, SMIC-I Principal, commented on the event, “I think it’s really nice. It’s such a big event, and all the hard work put into this and presenting the artwork and performances really shows. Only a few years ago this holiday was celebrated with little displays in the classroom, now look at this.”
Featured image- Singers and Dancers from SCLS give an outstanding performance at Dia de los Muertos Photo Courtesy of Mr. Olson