Regis welcomes Denver high school students to display altars in honor of Día de los Muertos
From food and photos to flags and flowers, the halls of Regis University were filled with remembrances for the dead in honor of Día de los Muertos this past Friday.
More than 160 students from Denver Public Schools high schools gathered at Regis to show off the ofrendas, or altars, they created for Día de los Muertos, honoring family members, musical legends and political leaders alike on this day of remembrance.
The Día de los Muertos event, hosted for the third time in the University’s Main Hall and in spots across campus, offered a chance for local high school students to display their work honoring the deceased — from artists to actors and singers to politicians — with vibrant displays. Regis students also contributed ofrendas set up across campus and honored the holiday with a Día de los Muertos celebration featuring music, food and culturally significant crafts with the artist Mamibel, a.k.a. Maribel Arrendondo.
For West High School student Layla Flores, Día de los Muertos offers a way to express care, through food, music and art, for the dearly departed.
“This is very meaningful because it’s a way of showing love for those who have passed away,” she said.
Wladimir Márquez Jiménez, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Regis, said the event was started three years ago to honor the day and collaborate with Denver Public Schools students. Márquez Jiménez’s wife, Eva Márquez, Ph.D., is a teacher at North High School who was instrumental in bringing Denver Public Schools together for the event. The couple have been collaborating with each other’s classes for many years.
“I proposed to them, ‘how about you bring the best altarcitos to Regis?’ And we exhibit them in the Main Hall close to the president's office as a way to support the designation of this University as Hispanic-Serving Institution,” he said. “The idea has been to make the students know that Regis University, as a higher ed institution, is welcoming and they belong here, and this could be their place.”
Carlos Parra, a Spanish teacher at West High School, said his school started their Día de los Muertos project 10 years ago. After noticing that school’s population was around 80 percent Latino, with many students of Mexican heritage, he wanted to bring the community together to recognize the holiday.
“I said we need to do something to connect with the community. And then, as a Colombian, I just started learning a lot about the culture through Día de los Muertos,” Parra said. “Something important is that this is the only custom from before Spain got here to Mexico. It's something original and continues through the years. It has that power of continuation, of feeling, of connections, and it's another way to see what happens after our lives.”
Parra takes his students through Hispanic Heritage Month, highlighting the people in Hispanic culture who are most important to them, from musicians to sports stars. He then transitions into discussing Día de Los Muertos, highlighting history, art, culture and language.
Other high schools, including Abraham Lincoln High School, Kennedy High School, North High School, South High School, Stead School and West High School also filled the halls of Regis to celebrate and honor the Day of the Dead.
Flores, whose altar honored the late Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera, said Día de los Muertos is not only a meaningful class project, but it’s also a family tradition.
“I feel like it’s special. You look forward to it every year,” she said.