ASU brings a home away from home by providing ofrendas and celebrations across campuses for students to honor Día de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead.
Typically a multi-day holiday where friends and family gather to honor loved ones who have died by filling ofrendas, or altars, with candles, pictures, favorite foods and flowers in remembrance.
Vanessa Fonseca-Chavez, an associate dean of inclusion and student success at ASU's College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, said she put up ofrendas in the Polytechnic campus Student Union to bring the holiday, commonly celebrated in Latin countries, to the University.
"I recognize that in a place like Phoenix, where we have one of the largest Latino populations in the United States, that it's important to think about the celebration as something that other Latinos bring to this space," Fonseca-Chavez said. "We should create places where this can happen for our students."
With Arizona having roots in Indigenous and Latin culture, Fonseca-Chavez said she wanted to give students a space to connect to their culture and heritage.
"We wanted to be able to create an event where folks could feel like they belonged and where they could see their culture on display," Fonseca-Chavez said.
She began displaying the ofrendas in 2016 and, since then, Fonseca-Chavez has expanded it and added a Día de los Muertos celebration at the Student Union on the Polytechnic campus.
Many organizations, such as the Multicultural Communities of Excellence and the Office for Veteran and Military Academic Engagement, added to the ofrendas on the Polytechnic campus, Fonseca-Chavez said.
Students can attend the annual celebration, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), on Tuesday from 4-to-7 p.m. The event will include mariachi and folklórico performances with many other activities, according to the event's information page.
Irasema Coronado, a director at the School of Transborder Studies, said students can find an altar and celebration on the Tempe campus as well.
The celebration at the School of Transborder Studies will include hot chocolate, pan de muerto — a type of Mexican bread — and three ofrendas for students to pay respects.
Coronado said the Disney movie "Coco" changed the perspective of the holiday for many students.
"('Coco') has to do with, 'We need to remember people who were here before us,'" Coronado said. "You remember them in a special way and part of it is the food and enjoying the things that they enjoyed."
The event, Día de los Muertos Celebration, will take place on Wednesday from 9-to-11 a.m.
Students in Barrett, the Honors College, will also be putting on an event on the Downtown Phoenix campus to celebrate the holiday.
The event, Day of the Dead, held on Friday from 5-to-7 p.m., will include food, face painting and an altar for students to bring a photo of a loved one, according to the event page.
Sam Lint, a senior studying graphic information technology, said it's important for students to recognize the different cultures on campus.
"It's a melting pot (in America). I think that's one of the unique features of it," Lint said. "It's definitely important to share with your community at college."
By providing events and ofrendas throughout the campuses, Fonseca-Chavez said she hopes students can connect to the history and importance of the holiday.
"A lot of students have that kind of visceral response to the event," Fonseca-Chavez said. "At a university where we're trying so hard all the time to figure out how students get a sense of belonging, this is an event that really provides one small way to do that."
Edited by Senna James, Abigail Beck, Tiya Talwar and Alexis Heichman.
Reach the reporter at alillest@asu.edu and follow @allylillestol on X.
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Allison is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her first semester at The State Press. She has also worked at Arizona PBS and Blaze Radio.
