Students at Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech High School are working to help create awareness about a Mexican holiday.
Six students — Jose Trinidad Noriega, Sarina Wills, Elizabeth Stevens, Abby Wittekind, William Likens and Adam Kolomaznik — have organized the sixth annual Dia de los Muertos Arts and Diversity Festival. The event will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at The Commons, 300 Washington St.
The festival will feature informational booths, two Mexican bakeries, food, dancing and an ofrenda (offering), which is an altar space filled with flowers, candles and photos of deceased loved ones, said Wendolyn Jimenez-Nolasco, a Spanish teacher at CSA New Tech.
Jimenez-Nolasco said the altar space tied to the event is meant to allow individuals to remember loved ones who have died. The Day of the Dead celebration was started about 3,000 years ago by the Mayans and was eventually part of different cultures around Mexico, she said.
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Students have been working since September to organize the Day of the Dead — known as Dia de los Muertos in Spanish — by making phone calls, seeking sponsors and reaching out to local businesses. The high schools students are in a Spanish class at CSA New Tech.
The event, which is supported by CSA New Tech and IUPUC, is also sponsored by Su Casa Columbus, the Community Education Coalition and the McDowell Education Center.
Wills said she was also able to learn more about the holiday after attending the event last year. “This is a celebration of life, it’s not meant to be scary,” Wills said.
Jimenez-Nolasco said one goal of the annual event, which was held at Central Middle School last year, is to help educate residents about the Mexican culture. This will be the sixth year the event has been held in Columbus.
About 400 people are expected to attend this year, while attendance has varied over the years, she said.
Students will also be preparing and selling tostadas, cookies and pan de muerto, a Spanish word for Bread of the Dead. Proceeds from the festival will go back into a school fund dedicated for the event, Jimenez-Nolasco said.
“It really gives people the chance to learn about the Mexican culture,” Jimenez-Nolasco said. The public will be able to become more educated through the various aspects of the Day of the Dead celebration with the music, dancing and the food that will be available, she said.
Wittekind, a junior at CSA New Tech, said she enjoys the social aspect of the annual event and developing new friendships.
While food and dancing featuring individuals wearing traditional attire will be found upstairs at The Commons, artwork that has been created by CSA New Tech students related to the Day of the Dead will be on display in the lower level.
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What: Dia de los Muertos Arts and Diversity Festival
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Commons, 300 Washington St.
Admission: Free to attend with food available for purchase at the event.
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