Ofrendas adorned with marigolds, candles, framed photos of loved ones, pan de muerto, sweets, sugar skulls and conchitas filled rooms and homes at GW and around the world over the past week, honoring the memory of the deceased.

GW students across various Latin American and first-generation student organizations commemorated Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead — a holiday primarily observed on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 by Mexican and Latin American communities, with celebrations taking place over the surrounding weeks — through various collaborative celebrations. Students set up communal and personal altars and organized cross-organization events as an act of convivial remembrance, emphasizing that all students are welcome to take part in the campus-wide festivities that continue throughout the week.

With over 3,000-year-old roots in Mesoamerican cultures, like the Aztecs and Olmecs, indigenous peoples in now-Central Mexico saw death as a continuation of life, believing that commemorating the deceased empowers their spirits to carry on in the next world. Ofrendas are designed to welcome the spirits of loved ones with their earthly enjoyments and bridge the gap between mortal planes.

The celebration also underscores the cultural roots of indigenous peoples in Mexico. During the commencement of Día de los Muertos festivities this October, hundreds of people gathered in Mexico City to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan’s founding, where Mexico City now sits.

Catarina Elizondo Arevalo, president of the Mexican Student Association, said the organization hopes to foster a sense of community around the holiday each year by collaborating on the Multicultural Student Services Center’s ofrenda, set up on the fifth floor of the University Student Center between Oct. 27 and Nov. 7, highlighting the nature of the holiday as a community celebration. 

She said MXGWU invites all community members to upload photographs of lost family members to be displayed on the MSSC altar, ensuring the ofrenda is representative of all students, not just executive board members. 

“A lot of people associate death with something sad, something bad, but Día de los Muertos is our way of bringing life to death because at the end of the day it’s inevitable everyone’s gonna die,” she said. “So this is how we connect with our ancestors, our loved ones and celebrate that.” 

She said the organization announced the MSSC ofrenda through a workshop during the club’s general body meeting on Oct. 22 open to the entire student body, where students created crafts centered around the holiday and enjoyed Aguas Frescas, a non-alcoholic beverage, and Arroz con Leche or Mexican rice pudding.

“This year we had people draw little skulls on paper, and then we had them make little cempasúchil flowers,” Arevalo said. “Last year, we had them paint little alebrijes, which are the little wooden figurines that are traditional in Mexico. We try to make it very inclusive and have people get involved — it is a Mexican holiday, but the point of our presence on campus is to spread that with everyone.”

Traditionally, the ofrenda, an altar honoring deceased loved ones, is filled with items representing the four elements — earth, air, water and fire — serving as offerings and guidance for the spirit of the deceased. Students said the communal and individual altars on campus incorporated these elements through items like framed photographs and flowers.

Arevalo said Nov. 9 MXGWU is hosting an event with the Organization of Latin American Students with face painting, traditional Mexican food and a movie to continue celebrating even after the holiday’s passing.

Daniella Garcia, a member of First Gen United, said since ofrendas are often created in a family’s home or in the community near the place of burial, it can be difficult to find a place to celebrate while at college. 

She said she and one of her roommates decided to make a makeshift altar in their dorm last year, going to a bakery in Maryland that sells flowers and getting sugar skulls from Garcia’s mother. She said the duo cleared a shelf and filled it with printed-out photographs and the purchased items, a practice they repeated this year, specifically honoring her deceased cat this time. 

“Once Day of the Dead started rolling around, me and my roommate cleared one of the shelves we had, and then we decorated,” Garcia said. “We cut the flowers, we printed out photos using our print money and we did it in our dorm.”

She said the Immigrant Liberation Coalition at GW also hosted an event in honor of the holiday in conjunction with SoulfulBrewings on Saturday, crafting picture frames to add to the community ofrenda in the Tompkins Hall Innovation Center. She said events like this, mixed with greater D.C. area gatherings she’s found online that she hopes to attend, help Hispanic students find a sense of community while away from home.

“It’s just a big realization that, yeah, you’re far away from the main community back at home, but you can still find it here,” Garcia said. “And if you go to Columbia Heights, they’re definitely selling it on the street because there’s a ton of Hispanic people there as well.”

On Saturday, the Socialist Action Initiative co-hosted a decolonial Día de los Muertos event with five cultural organizations, including the Multicultural Greek Council and Poetic Justices, celebrating the “martyrs who gave their lives for liberation and independence from all around the world” through an ofrenda, food, poetry and “political education” at Western Presbyterian Church. 

Vice President of the OLAS Axcel Sanchez said honoring the holiday at GW is more so done through general community involvement versus the familial celebrations at home, with Latin American organizations collaborating through events like the co-hosted MXGWU event in the amphitheater. 

“So there is a big difference, for sure — you’re with other students who also have families that have passed away, but we’re honoring all of our families together through that event as a community,” Sanchez said.

He said the organization has offered him a space to gather with other students who feel like a minority at GW, as attending on-campus events, especially near holidays, gives students a chance to talk and engage on a cultural level.

“A lot about Latino culture is celebrating with your people, being able to come any time of the holidays and celebrate and just really talk with each other,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said honoring his loved ones during Día de los Muertos means recognizing the tribulations of his ancestors as immigrants, with the holiday’s emphasis on remembrance giving him time to reflect on the plight of his grandparents and how their journey impacted him.

“That’s one of the things that is really important for Day of the Dead, recognizing the efforts of your ancestors,” he said. “You’re here because of them and their struggle to fight against economic disparities back home, fighting against imperialism and then fighting against unjust living conditions.”

Adriana Hernandez, director of alumni and professor relations and former president of OLAS, said Día de los Muertos is a sentimental time of year for her, acting as a nexus for family connection.

“My mom would always make hot chocolate but Mexican, the Abuelita one from the yellow packaging, and a lot of my favorite fall treats,” Hernandez said. “My dad would buy a whole bunch — his thing is making the arch for the altar — and he would always buy a whole bunch of marigolds, and it would be our job to pass him the marigolds as he’s putting them on the arch.” 

OLAS first-year student Ashley Ocampo said going to a predominantly white institution, she was surprised to meet as many Hispanic students as she has, allowing her to find a sense of community and feel supported in the current political moment.

She said she has noticed campus-wide recognition of other culturally-affiliated holidays, commemorated with specialty food choices at dining halls and events in dorms, which she said could be translated to celebrate Día de los Muertos at GW. She said doing so would help increase potential cross-cultural participation and improve understanding of the holiday. 

In 2022, GW hosted an event honoring the holiday in Kogan Plaza through the Fall Days & Fright Nights program, and the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute hosted a celebration in 2023 with live music, performances, food and ofrendas. There are no GW-sponsored events in honor of the holiday listed for last year or this year. 

“I feel like the school itself should touch on Día de los Muertos a bit more, do more events,” she said. “I know that in a lot of dorm halls, they do little events here and there to build community, I would definitely love to see that at Thurston — that’s where I live — bringing more attention and having more community-based events.”