Students learn the meaning of Dia de los Muertos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Nicole Scipione

Web Editor

In honor of celebrating the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a traditional altar was designed in Marvin Library for student viewing.

Néstor Guardado, instructor of English, foreign language and ESL, was one professor involved in setting up this years display.

“The Day of the Dead is a celebration in Mexico,” Guardado said. “It’s used to honor those that have passed in a loving way . . . It’s a way of remembering that they meant something to us, that they’re still in our minds, they’re still in our hearts, they’re still around us, even if they’re not here physically,” he said.

Mariadelourdes Benton, associate professor of English, foreign language and ESL, was the first to decorate an altar at Hudson Valley Community College two years ago.

Benton felt she was responsible for representing the Mexican culture on campus as she was one of few with Mexican heritage. “One day I said, ‘Excuse me, I’m the only Mexican here and we don’t have a Day of the Dead altar’, so I set it up,” Benton said.

Students had a positive reaction to the display. “I think it’s a really beautiful display of Mexican culture,” said Samantha Alesandrini, an individual studies major.

Alesandrini believed it’s a great way to educate people about other cultures. “It’s a good way to bring a different culture to other people who aren’t a part of that culture and let them learn about it and appreciate it more and understand it more,” she said.

Rosa Luna, a pharmacy student, believed that recognizing this tradition was important because of Hudson Valley Community College’s diversity. “It shows that HVCC is aware of the student population and it lets the other students and staff become knowledgeable of different cultures and traditions,” she said.

“I think it’s important to recognize this along with other cultural traditions just because I think we’re not really surrounded by that [usually],” said Austin Secor, a digital media student.

Benton said having students from multiple backgrounds allowed her to learn about different cultures similar to her own. “This semester I’m learning about similar celebrations in the Philippines and in Vietnam . . . which is fascinating,” she said.

While some students know about the holiday, others don’t have a lot of knowledge about the tradition of Day of the Dead.

Secor briefly remembers reading about the Day of the Dead. Prior to that, he didn’t know much about it.

Luna, however, had some background knowledge on the holiday. “I know that it is a Mexican tradition to honor and remember all the family members, loved ones and friends that have passed away,” she said.

Though Luna doesn’t personally celebrate the Day of the Dead, she knows people who do. “I have some family members and friends that celebrate this holiday,” she said. “They put up an altar just like the display at HVCC.”

Andy Dang, physical education studies major, celebrates a similar tradition in his Vietnamese culture. “Vietnamese people do celebrate to honor the dead, but not on the same day and not like this,” said Dang.

“Since it’s a learning community here, we’re here to learn, not just the subjects we have to learn to get a particular degree, but also to learn about each other,” Guardado said. “And I think learning about those differences in an interesting way can actually bring us together and unite us,” he said.

“That’s one of my favorite things to do, to remind us all that there are other cultures out there, there are other people out there who do things differently, who look at life in a different way, and I think it’s fascinating to think about that and then come back and conclude that at the end we’re all the same,” Benton said. “We have these different cultures, and we may do things differently, but human is human wherever we go.”