Photo provided Columbus Signature New Tech students will have a traditional Día de Muertos celebration, complete with ofrendas, dance, music and much more from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 4 at The Commons.
Columbus Signature New Tech Academy students are inviting the community to join them in a traditional Día de Muertos celebration, complete with ofrendas, dance, music and much more. The festival is returning for its eighth year.
The festival will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 4 at The Commons. It is free to attend but donations are accepted.
Otherwise known as Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos is a celebration of life and those who have passed away, according to Columbus Signature Academy New Tech world language teacher Wendolyn Jiménez-Nolasco.
It is traditionally celebrated with ofrendas, or offerings, where family members place photos, flowers, lights and food in memory of a person. Visitors are invited to write memories or messages of their passed loved ones on cards to place on a large ofrenda.
No party would be complete without music and dancing. Multiple performances will be held throughout the evening, including Seymour-based Raices Folklore presenting a traditional Folkloric Ballet and a vocal performance from sophomore Monste Valencia. Students will also share poems and a communal dance will be held later in the evening.
“We’re going to have food, a restaurant called El Mexicano is going to be there to sell tacos,” Jiménez-Nolasco said. “We’re going to have some food, bread, hot chocolate…”
Families may also participate in activities such as making paper flowers and papel picado for ofrendas. L.O.V.E., or Latino-American Organization of Volunteers in Education, will be on site offering face painting and flower crowns.
The festival is a project for Columbus Signature Academy New Tech students, and many of the booths and activities are organized by students. Mini ofrendas and art pieces created by students, including some from Legado Academy, will be on display. For many of these students, Jiménez-Nolasco said it will be a new experience.
“This is a good way for the Spanish students to get engaged in activities that actually happen in other countries and everyone loves fiestas, right?,” Jiménez-Nolasco said. “Everybody loves parties and this celebration is big and it’s beautiful so hopefully the students get more engaged with the language they are learning in this way.”
Funding for the festival came from three students’ senior projects. Eimy de La Cruz Hernandez, Gisselle Villegas Zavaleta and Kayla Hernandez sold food at Fiesta Latina earlier in the fall to pay for the festival’s expenses, and anything left over from that will be donated to the L.O.V.E. Club.
As the festival went on hold for a few years because of the pandemic and of costs, Jiménez-Nolasco said their intention this year is to bring it back to make it as big as it once was. The purpose of the festival is to inform, educate and share these traditions, and even if someone isn’t familiar with the Día de Muertos celebration, she said it’s always a good idea to learn and try something new.
“I like the idea of expanding people’s perspective because it is the way that triggers curiosity and when curiosity is triggered, you want to learn more and you want to know more and you want to travel more and you want to experiment more… I want to think that makes your life happier and more complete,” Jiménez-Nolasco said.
