The Spanish Club hosted their first event this semester. A fiesta was held in honor of Day of the Living in the Game Room on Nov. 17.
Alexina Wilson, Spanish junior and president of the Spanish Club, said their Day of the Living fiesta was just a play on the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead.
“The holiday is meant for gatherings of family and friends to remember loved ones who have died,” Wilson said.
There are many rituals for celebrating the deaths of ancestors in the Hispanic culture.
The common symbol of the holiday is the skull. Celebrants of the holiday represent these skulls in masks called calacas. Originating from the Aztecs, calacas are usually depicted as joyous rather than mournful.
“These skeletons used for decoration aren’t meant to be feared,” Wilson said. “They’re supposed to be happy.”
Fiesta guests were able to make their very own calca mask in remembrance of their lost loved ones while also enjoying catered Mexican food.
“The food was catered from La Rosita Grill,” Wilson said. “Ground beef and potato empanadas and Mayan quesadillas with chicken, black beans, plantains, sour cream and avocado.”
After everyone had a chance to eat, Wilson had one last surprise, which was a scavenger hunt leading the winning team to a candy filled piñata.
“What’s a fiesta without a piñata,” Wilson said.
The twelve attendees were split into two teams of six, each starting out with a clue, eventually leading them to the hanging piñata in McCullough Plaza.
Team one, which consisted of Felicia Jamison, psychology senior, Gerard Esterle, international studies freshman, Dulguun Otgonsuren, informatics sophomore, Ryan Malone, psychology sophomore, Tyla Davis, Spanish senior, and Leslie Turner, counselor for Financial Aid and member of the Spanish Club, took home the win.
Davis, who has been in the Spanish Club for three years, said this fiesta was basically just for people interested in the Spanish culture.
“This was more of an awareness event, really, just to let people know we’re here,” Davis said. “We’re always looking for new members.”
By TAYLOR FERGUSON
Staff
tayfergu@ius.edu
