Día De Los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrating the souls of those who have died. The holiday takes place from October 31, 2018 to November 2, 2018.

Similar to the american holiday of Halloween, many people dress up for the Day of the Dead with intricate makeup and fancy clothing. However, the celebration is not meant to be scary or frightening in any way. It is meant to be a sentimental remembrance of those who have passed.

“I plan to address the holiday in class to a degree. In fact, I recently posted a slide presentation so my kids can explore certain important aspects of the holiday. A large number of people are of Mexican heritage, and it would be nice if other people understood more about the celebration and why it’s celebrated, and that it’s not sad,” said Spanish teacher, Kristin Haut.

The holiday is a large celebration in Mexico. Families begin by making colorful alters for their homes, and decorating them with pictures of those who have died, sweets, and flowers.

“The significance of Día De Los Muertos is thinking of death as a part of life and remembering those who have passed but are still a part of your life. It’s an important cultural experience from a Mexican point of view,” said Haut.

Día de Los Muertos is not solely celebrated in Mexico. Many families right here in Pleasanton have brought the culture back with them, and teachers do their part to discuss it in class during school.

“Amador is a blue ribbon school, and we’re supposed to support diversity and promote different cultures. I think it’s really important to support different festivals from different cultures, and Dia De Los Muertos should be one of them,” said Erica Chui (‘19).

This year, Amador celebrated the holiday on a whole new level. An Oakland ballet company performed two different assemblies of their ballet ‘Luna Mexicana’ on Friday, October 26, in the Amador Theater. Teachers had the opportunity to reserve their class seats, and view the beautiful dance.

“We used to go to the event all the time; my sister actually went to that field trip. I would always go to it, especially in middle school. They would do this large dance that would celebrate Día de Los Muertos,” said Austin Nicholas (‘21).

The event was in support of the PUSD Mariachi Program in hopes to raise money for the organization and allow it to continue to keep part of the Mexican culture alive in our schools.

Día De Los Muertos is celebrated across the span of three days, and is a special time for many families to remember the ones they have lost.

Happy Día de Los Muertos Dons!!