Celebrating Dia de los Muertos
Posted by Krissy PondenIn a collaborative effort between the Spanish and Visual Arts Departments, we worked together to celebrate Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. To unify us in our efforts, we decided to create an ofrenda (altar) to celebrate the life of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.
In Spanish class, eighth graders served as project managers for the design of the altar. They researched the essential components of an ofrenda, studied the seven different levels of the altar and thoughtfully helped to organize the various pieces. Additionally, they worked hard to make sure that the altar would be educational to the public. Similar to a museum exhibit, they recognized the importance of having information in both Spanish and English. Finally, they decided that it would be helpful to the public if they color-coded levels, symbols and pertinent information. As project managers, they paved the way for students in other grades to feel comfortable contributing to the altar. Fifth graders contributed captioned visuals of some of Frida’s most famous artwork, while seventh graders contributed captioned photos from Frida’s family life. Finally, sixth graders weighed in by adding their opinions on the life and work of Frida.
All of the happenings in Spanish class were enhanced through the visual arts. Seventh graders cut delicate papel picado banners out of tissue paper and created intricate and adorned nichos (shadow box-style shrines) to honor Frida. Fifth graders designed paper sugar skull masks, and PreK-3 decorated actual sugar skulls inspired by eighth grader Will’s complex designs. Many students helped make paper pom poms and flowers to add to the altar. Finally, at Upper School lunch students were treated to a sample of pan de muertos, or the bread of the dead, made by Chefs Dave and Henri and our resident junior chef, Aaron.
The collaborative building of this ofrenda has certainly helped our students to see that many hands make light work, but more importantly it helped them to appreciate how Día de los Muertos can be lively and festive, all the while honoring those that have passed. As for Mrs. Brenna and I, the building of the altar gave us the opportunity to reflect on our Oaxacan experiences this past summer and to infuse them into our teaching.
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