Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a yearly celebration that honors ancestors and loved ones who have passed away.
This year, the Cultural Coalition, a Phoenix-based organization that connects communities through culture, partnered with Barrett, The Honors College, for a community festival at the Arizona Center on the Downtown Phoenix campus.
The event included several food trucks and vendors for ASU students and Phoenix residents to walk through. It also included performances from mariachi and ballet folklórico groups.
Asiela Martinez, a freshman studying community health, originally just went for a class, but really enjoyed how “above and beyond” the event was.
“It shows inclusivity a lot, because this isn’t just open for people who are Hispanic, it’s open for the public and people at ASU,” Martinez said. “So it really stands to the core values of ASU being not who we exclude, but who we include.”
Not only did the event provide inclusivity, cherished memories and fun activities, it also provided Barrett students the chance to make connections and serve their community.
“It’s awesome to have our students volunteer with this event, because then they’re actually able to network with the community, work with the community, have fun with the community,” Lexxus Andrews, a program coordinator at Barrett, the Honors College, said. “It’s getting out of your comfort zone and really supporting local businesses and local initiatives that mean something to Phoenix.”
The event had partner, merchant and small business booths for attendees to visit, ranging from options of Mexican food to handmade art and traditional healers.
Students not in Barrett also participated in the celebration as both guests and performers.
Being a performer didn’t change the importance of the celebration; it only strengthened it, Andres Vargas, a freshman in construction management and technology, said.
“The (performance) that my group did was really meaningful to me,” Vargas said. “We recently lost one of our dancers almost two years (ago) now, coming up in December, and it was just really nice to see him up there and see that ofrenda.”
The event concluded with QVLN, a music group, getting the crowd to dance in front of the stage. A final procession led everyone to light the community ofrenda.
LISTEN MORE: State Press Play Feature: Dia de los Muertos
Jimmy Garcia, an honors academic success advisor coordinator for Barrett Downtown, said that collaborating with an organization that is actually embedded in the community allows for greater impact on the community.
“ASU can always be doing things that are just turned inwards institutionally, but that doesn’t really take advantage of our place within a particular community,” Garcia said. “We shouldn’t just be thinking about our students as our community or our faculty; we’re in Arizona. We should … help enrich (residents’) lives.”
Supporting events like Dia de los Muertos as a college creates an impact for students and lets them feel seen and included in the community.
“We care about you and we care about what you want to see and we care about making you feel like you’re at home,” Andrews said. “We care to also help other students gain knowledge on different cultures and how different cultures operate and celebrate the day, let alone each other. I want students to feel seen.”
Edited by Kasturi Tale, Henry Smardo, Tiya Talwar and Pippa Fung.
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Jen HamiltonEcho Reporter
Jen Hamilton is a freshman studying Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Political Science. This is their first semester with The State Press.
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