GVSU's Office of Multicultural Affairs honors the dead in Día de los Muertos celebration

Thalía Guerra-Flores put the final touches of the ofrenda’s decorations as she placed cempasúchiles, or marigolds, into the small clay pots called cantaritos. She completed these final preparations to the ofrenda as GVSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) began its November 1 celebration of Día de los Muertos.

Día de los Muertos has its roots in indigenous Latin American cultures such as the Aztecs. During the colonial era, Catholic influences began to fold into the celebration. The celebration traditionally takes place on November 1 and 2. While the holiday has received more recognition in American culture over the years, there are still some misconceptions that Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is simply the Mexican version of Halloween. This is not the case. Día de los Muertos is about honoring loved ones who have passed.

An ofrenda, or offering altar, is set up with decorations, food, candles, pictures of the dead and other traditional offerings for the dead to receive.

“The belief is that their spirits will come back to our world,” said Guerra-Flores, an assistant director with OMA. “So there are things on there to light their way.”

The photograph of the passed loved one is placed on the altar to signify that this place is for them to come to on the holiday. Food such as pan de muerto, or bread of the dead, fruits, and personal favorites of the deceased are included on the ofrenda for the visiting spirits to taste or smell. Personal items or items of significance to the deceased are sometimes also included. For children who have passed, toys and candy may be among the offerings included on the ofrenda.

On OMA’s ofrenda, Guerra-Flores honored her grandfather, making sure to include some things that remind her of him next to his picture.

“My grandpa, his thing was always drinking Coke and eating seeds, and I also put a word search on there because that is something that he always enjoyed doing in life,” she said.

Those that decorated the altar placed pictures of other loved ones on it while some placed pictures of famous people such as Latino singer Vicente Fernández whose music could be heard in the OMA office along with other traditional Latino music.

Among the traditional items placed on OMA’s ofrenda is copal, an aromatic tree resin that is burned during the celebration and believed to elevate prayers. Water and salt are essential items for an ofrenda. They are set out to purify and cleanse the altar to ward off evil spirits. OMA also included calaveras, sugar skulls that symbolize the sweetness of life. The strong aromas of the cempasúchiles are meant to lure loved ones. Completing the traditional essentials for an ofrenda are candles, whose light is believed to guide the spirits on their way back to the living world.

Many of the items on the ofrenda Guerra-Flores brought back with her after visits to Mexico, including catrines, well dressed skeleton figurines, and toys placed on the altar for the deceased children. The cantaritos that hold the cempasúchiles were a gift from her father.

“He knew that this is my work and this is what I do,” she said. “So, that was really special when he gave me those to share with others.”

Some of the ornaments on the ofrenda are also meant to represent the four elements. The wind is represented by banners hanging above the altar, fire represented by the candles, water represented by the dish of water left out alongside the salt and earth represented by the copal.

For the Latino students who take part in OMA’s Día de los Muertos festivities, decorating the ofrenda and honoring passed loved ones has been a learning experience.

“My family doesn’t really do this back at home,” said senior Jackelyn Palmas, a biology major with an emphasis in genetics. “I’m never in Mexico when this happens, so I really don’t know how it’s celebrated over there. So, it’s nice to learn about this here.”

The ofrenda set up by the efforts of Guerra-Flores, Palmas and other members of OMA included items bought locally at Latino stores in the Grand Rapids area, including the pan de muerto and cempasúchiles.

It takes a lot of work for the team to put everything together, but it is worth their efforts to be able to celebrate Día de los Muertos and teach members of the community about its significance to Latino culture.

“Laker Familia would like to thank all of its volunteers who contributed photos, made decorations and who helped set up the ofrenda,” Guerra-Flores said. “We really appreciate everyone taking the time to help us put this together to honor loved ones.”