Día de Los Muertos is a yearly holiday observed by Latin American cultures to honor and remember lost loved ones.
In accordance with the holiday, as well as Native American Heritage Month, the Native Indigenous Student Union at Salt Lake Community College hosted an afternoon of presentations and family-friendly crafts on Nov. 1.
Karen Sanchez Garcia and Fernando Camarena were the two faces of the event, welcoming everyone and introducing the performers and workshops. Afterwards, they talked a bit about the significance of these events and how they connect with their organization’s mission.
“A lot of people when they think of Day of the Dead, they don’t realize the origin or the actual perspective,” Camarena said. “That’s why we came in, and we try to bring in Indigenous peoples.”
This event was presented by NISU as part of an ongoing effort to educate the local community about Native and Indigenous history, by assisting in correcting social misconceptions, and to share important pieces of these cultures with a wider audience.
Sanchez Garcia also discussed how a large part of modern society has a negative view of Indigenous communities, believing that they were unintelligent and archaic.
“Aliens and conspiracy theories!” Sanchez Garcia exclaimed, referring to what people would rather believe instead of realizing ancient Indigenous tribes were advanced societies.
For events, the NISU aims to bring in as many locals and small businesses as they can. When looking for presenters for this event, Esmeralda Torres, a local educator and member of the Sokee tribe, was sought out.
“We asked, ‘who can we bring in?’ and they guided us to her [Esmeralda Torres]. We brought her here because cacao, not in my tribe, but in some tribes in Mesoamérica, it’s seen as gold,” Camarena said.
Torres sat on the floor in front of her pestle and, through an emotional dedication to her culture, her mother, her father, and her children, she showed her audience how to grind the cacao beans she had brought into a paste.
She explained how the paste is later sweetened with cinnamon and boiled in water to make a hot chocolate drink that is shared with family in times of importance and remembrance.
Later, Torres talked about the connection she feels to her family and culture when she grinds the beans, and how she wishes to share these practices, so they won’t be forgotten.
“The purpose of this mission is to represent the Latin community and the Indigenous community, and to involve other cultures and communities as well.” Torres said.
“I want to showcase my traditions and to help people have better knowledge of who we are,” Torres said. “A lot of us are blessed to be able to return to our homes and our cultures, but many can’t so they’re disconnecting from their traditions, from their people and from their land, and from who they are.”
Torres, Camarena, and Sanchez Garcia are all incredibly passionate about Native and Indigenous culture, education for the local communities, and visibility for those who are being oppressed because of who they are.
They, as well as their organizations NISU and Artes de Mexico hope that these events will help them reach and inform as many members of the Utah community as possible.
