Celebrate Dia de los Muertos at UK By Jenny Wells-Hosley
The University of Kentucky community is invited to honor lost loved ones and celebrate life at a physically distant Dia de los Muertos event Monday, Nov. 2, on campus.
A celebration of life vigil will take place at 8 p.m. outside the UK Main Building, and will be followed by a screening of the Disney movie “Coco” — a film specifically about Dia de los Muertos — inside the Gatton Student Center Worsham Cinema.
Face masks are required to attend both events.
“The beauty of Día de los Muertos is in truly celebrating each other, present or past,” said Ruth González Jiménez, with the UK Martin Luther King Center. “November is also Native American and Alaskan Native Heritage Month, so we celebrate Día de Los Muertos — a holiday born out of syncretism between Indigenous, African and European spiritual/religious traditions — as they meshed with the Christian-observed All Souls and All Saints day.”
González Jiménez says the holiday is not “Mexican Halloween,” as some may think.
“Día de Los Muertos is celebrated all over the world,” she said. “Some traditions include visiting and decorating the tombstones of loved ones, or engaging in prayer and remembrance, typically before an altar created within the family home. A typical altar will include pictures, flowers, sweets and beverages (often the favorites of your loved one or ancestors), lights and anything that celebrates and honors their lives.”
This year’s campus vigil will acknowledge lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as lives lost to racial violence. Trans Day of Remembrance is also observed in November, so the event will acknowledge lives lost to violence against transpersons as well.
The event marks the fourth annual Día de Los Muertos celebration at UK, and is sponsored by Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Incorporated, the MLK Center and UK Student Organizations and Activities.
“With cultural awareness as one of our founding principles, our annual Dia de los Muertos event is at the heart of what Sigma Lambda Gamma stands for," said C.J. Capalar, vice president of programming for UK's Omicron Zeta chapter. "For the past four years, Dia de los Muertos has united the Latinx community at the university in ways we never could have imagined. This year, though it will be different due to COVID, we knew that the event had to be in person to reserve the values and traditions of the vigil and celebration of life. Our chapter wants this program to forever be a cultural staple on UK’s campus where students, Latinx or not, can come together and celebrate the lives of the loved ones we have lost.”
“The loved ones we lost are all close to our hearts and stand by us every single day — that is what I think makes the celebration of this holiday so beautiful," said Anthony Labrado, member of the planning committee and Latino Student Union. "Especially this year, when we have lost so many due to COVID-19 and racial injustice, it is important to remember those loved ones. I was happy to work on the event this year and give the community the opportunity to help people learn and appreciate the holiday and to remember the loved ones we have lost.”
While registration is not required, those who register will receive a free “goody bag” with a candle to light, PPE to wear and candy inside. Register at: https://uky.campuslabs.com/engage/event/6564469.
For more information, contact González Jiménez at ruth.gonzalez@uky.edu.