On the third floor of Baker University Center, right beside the escalators, a beautiful ofrenda sits with marigolds and photos of dozens of cherished friends, family members and pets in front of colorful Papel Picado. Pictures of the deceased are surrounded by cups of water, favorite snacks and small candles to help guide loved ones home.
Ofrendas, or altars, are part of the celebration of Día de los Muertos. The holiday, called the Day of the Dead in English, is a Mexican tradition celebrated Nov. 1 and 2 that honors and remembers deceased loved ones.
The Multicultural Greek Council set up the ofrenda and made it available for all students and faculty on Oct. 27. Many people have sent in photos of family members and pets, to be placed among the bright marigolds and candlelight, to celebrate and remember them properly.
Along with the ofrenda, the Multicultural Greek Council also hosted a frame decorating night Oct. 29, on the third floor of Baker. It provided a link through its Instagram bio to send a picture of a loved one for participants to print out. The frame decorating itself provided a frame, stickers, washi tape, glitter and other crafting materials.
Ariana Villegas, president of the Multicultural Greek Council, said the ofrenda and frame decorating made it accessible for students to celebrate Día de los Muertos. By providing a way for students to print out pictures, as well as physical frames and materials to decorate with, students could easily celebrate their culture and loved ones.
“Why we do it sometimes is for people to connect to their culture,” Villegas said. “So maybe they didn't have the chance at home to celebrate … but we give them a chance here at OU to do that.”
Villegas said the water placed on the ofrenda is for the spirits who are thirsty, the candlelight helps guide them home and the food is to provide the spirits with something they love, and to let them know they are remembered. She said the flowers surrounding the photos, which are typically marigolds, act as trails from the grave, giving the spirits a clear path home.
“ I also know that, you know, some people have said that the food has gone missing the next day, or the drink has gone missing, and that's because the spirit did come and took it with them,” Villegas said.
In previous years, the Multicultural Greek Council held ofrendas and Día de los Muertos celebrations in the Multicultural Center. With the shutdown of the center due to Senate Bill 1 rulings, the ofrenda was moved to the open space in Baker, as the Multicultural Center is no longer available.
“It is unfortunate, in a way, that we have to move it out of somewhere where it was supposed to represent different cultures,” Villegas said. “When we look at it positively, it helps us put it in a space where we know there's a lot more traction and whatnot.”
The Kennedy Museum of Art also celebrated Día dos los Muertos this year, with a community open studio Nov. 2, where participants created collages inspired by the memory of loved ones. This free workshop, supported by the Ohio Arts Council, required only a reservation and was available to all ages and skill levels.
The art created by attendees is inspired heavily by Frida Kahlo’s family tree paintings, and collages honoring lost family members included themes of sugar skulls, monarch butterflies and marigolds. The museum provided many sheets of scrap paper, marigolds, paints and sugar skull templates, along with sheets of cardboard for attendees to create unique and colorful pieces of work.
Lenny Massiel Cauich Maldonado, a Ph.D. candidate in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and a graduate leader for the Dissertation Writing Support Program, attended the community open studio.
Maldonado is originally from Mexico and has been moved to and from Mexico since 2011. She created a collage honoring her deceased relatives, including uncles and grandparents. She said she would like to see more events like this that celebrate Día de los Muertos.
“I wanted to do something special for this day because I get very homesick,” Maldonado said.
Nina Battaglia, a third-year MFA student studying printmaking, works at the Kennedy Museum of Art and is one of the instructors for the event. Battaglia used her own collage, which took her about four hours to create, as an example for the group.
Battaglia said the museum created the event at the beginning of the semester and wanted to do something related to family for Dads Weekend. This is the first year the museum is celebrating Día de los Muertos with a workshop. “We wanted to keep it kind of open, too, to celebrate other people's kind of connections to family
members,” she said.
Allison Foltz, a sophomore studying education, also works for the Kennedy Museum of Art and was instructing those who needed help during the event, while educating others on the origins of the holiday.
“It’s important to learn about other people’s cultures in the process,” Foltz said. “So I think some people knew about Día de los Muertos coming into it. Some people were like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know this flower was symbolic,’ so yeah, I think it was really cool to have a learning experience as well.”
