It’s a warm, sunny Thursday and tables are lined with pan dulce, or sweet bread. The sound of mariachi fills the air and pictures of loved ones are placed on a bright altar, decorated with orange streamers and papel picado.
Students and Northridge locals gathered in Plaza del Sol on Nov. 2 to honor lost family members for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Organized by the University Student Union, the festivities included a live performance by CSUN’s very own Mariachi El Matador de CSUN, pan dulce and face painting with designs hailing from Mexico bringing joy to the younger attendees.
The holiday is celebrated in honor of the deceased, and is observed in Mexico on Nov. 1 and 2.
Día de los Muertos includes ritual observances, like constructing altars filled with offerings and decorating family gravesites to commune with the dead. It is also commemorated through vivacious fiestas where communities gather in town plazas and community centers to celebrate by dancing, feasting, drinking and masquerading as Death.
CSUN played host to a wide range of Día de los Muertos events and paid homage to its Hispanic heritage, along with the members of the student body who are part of this community.
Impressed by the efforts to mirror the traditions in Mexico at the event, students were also a part of the celebration.
“I like how everything was put together, because in Mexico, we usually go to the cemetery,” said Jose Luis Castillo, a vihuela player in Mariachi El Matador de CSUN. “We have an ofrenda decorated with marigolds, which are a type of flower that we lay out on the floor as a walkway for our ancestors to have the ability to take the pan dulce to eat, or the refreshments to drink, and you see that here today bringing the atmosphere of Día de los Muertos.”
The main attraction for the event was the mariachi band, which made a lot of the students who worked the event excited to help out, to hear, see and feel like a part of the performance.
“I wanted to be a part of the festival for the crafts and the mariachi band,” said Rylie Vantz, an event worker. “I know they have one annually on campus to commemorate the loved ones no longer with us and celebrate the heritage of this community that has been involved with CSUN. It’s been well put together, also being easily accessible to find for students to join the event.”
Formed two years ago by Chicano studies professor Carlos Samaniego, Mariachi El Matador de CSUN performed “La Llorona,” a myth about a woman who takes children as sacrifices into the next life. They followed this with a playlist of traditional songs that are played in Mexico during the commemoration.
From the festive decorations and skull face painting to our own campus Mariachi band performing the common tunes played during Day of the Dead in Mexico, the celebration created a space to honor loved ones who have passed away.
