Dia de Los Muertos

The Catholic Club will host their annual Dia de Los Muertos event on Tuesday Oct. 29 from 5 to 9 p.m. in the MSC Courtyard across from the Student Activities Lounge.

The event is open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend.

This is a perfect opportunity to learn more about the significance and history of the Mexican holiday.

In the past, the Catholic Club has always setup an altar to honor members of the SWTJC family that have passed. This year they are allowing anyone in the community to setup their own altars.

There will also be a Candy Skull Face Painting Contest with cash prizes, a small art exhibit featuring Dia de Los Muertos art and entertainment by the Ballet Folklorico de Hilda Navarro.  

The history of Dia de Los Muertos is complex and can be traced to the ancient history of Mexico.

The three deaths is one of the different facets of the Day of the Dead, which many Mexicans believe in. Victor Landa, of NewsTaco - The Latino Online Daily, explained it simply in an article on Latino.com. Landa wrote, "In our tradition, people die three deaths. The first death is when our bodies cease to function; when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning.

The second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight.

The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us."

Dia de Los Muertos is observed on Nov. 1 and 2.

To know more about Dia de Los Muertos click on the link.

Dia de Los Muertos History