Mexican Day of the Dead a 'celebration of life'
D\a de los Muertos, celebrated at the University
since 1981, is a 'community offering' for loved ones
BYCANELAWOOD
NEWS REPORTER
Mariachi music echoed from the
EMU Fir room Tuesday, as the band
La Catrina rehearsed before its per
formance at an event to celebrate
Dfa de los Muertos. The event be
gan at 7 p.m., the room colorfully
adorned with skulls and thin paper
cutouts that surrounded an altar
and were strung along the ceiling.
Dia de los Muertos, the day of
the dead, is a three-day Mexican
holiday beginning Oct. 31 and end
ing Nov. 2. The celebration is a time
for people to remember those who
have died.
“Dfa de los Muertos has indige
nous roots laid in with the Mexican
culture,” said Brenda Sifuentez, the
internal director of MEChA and a
senior ethnic studies and history
major.
“It’s a celebration of life. The U.S.
has Halloween, but that’s spooky;
we view death as a celebratory
thing,” Sifuentez said. “It’s a time to
get closer to our families and those
we’ve lost.”
The celebration was sponsored by
the University’s MEChA Club and is
the 23rd annual event at the Universi
ty. This year’s theme was “La Muerte
de Carton y Azucar,” the death of car
ton and sugar, and the featured artist
was Jesus Pastor, an art teacher from
Guanajuato, Mexico.
Pastor spent the last two weeks
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working with MEChA club mem
bers to educate them about the tra
ditions and customs of Dia de los
Muertos. He also helped them cre
ate the ofrenda, or altar, that was
the center of the evening’s event.
The three-tiered altar was covered
in picados of all colors, which are
thin sheets of paper with cutouts
similar to a paper snowflake. There
were also candles; fruit; pan de
muerto, a bread made especially for
the holiday; and pictures of the
dead surrounding the altar. A large
picture of Caesar Chavez was the fo
cal point at the top of the altar.
"It’s important that there is a con
tinuation of popular traditions and
customs, which is the identity of a
community,” Pastor said. "This is a
community offering so people can
remember their own loved ones; as
MEChA we are remembering Caesar
Chavez, who did so much for the
migrant farm workers movement,
but this is a community offering.”
Sophomore Lorena Landeros ex
pressed her desire for people to under
stand what this holiday is really about.
“Dfa de los Muertos is not a nega
tive thing — calaveras or skulls
aren’t bad,” Landeros said. “People
should see that everything is color
ful and positive, not negative.”
Landeros explained that her fami
ly celebrates the holiday throughout
the year.
"My mom, all year long, has a can
dle lit or flower on the windowsill to
remember those who have passed,”
Landeros said. “We acknowledge Dia
de los Muertos every year, but be
cause we always have a candle lit,
we’re always remembering.”
Armando Morales, MEChA advis
er, said he began the event at the
University in 1981.
“Every year this event gets bigger
and bigger,” Morales said. “We were
the first out of all Oregon and Wash
ington schools to celebrate Dia de
los Muertos.”
The event was well-attended by
University faculty and students of
all ethnicities.
canelawood@ daily emerald, com
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Senior Kaleen Mills talks with guest
artist Jesus Pastor from Mexico at the
Day of the Dead event in the EMU
Tuesday night.
Local: Candidates voice their thoughts
Continued from page 1
candidates A1 Gore, “so my vote
didn’t matter.”
Platt said he was planning on vot
ing absentee in New Jersey this year
but registered in Oregon after learn
ing how heated the campaign was
expected to be.
8:50 p.m. — Senior Kevin May said
he wanted to see the outcome of Ore
gon Ballot Measure 37, which “has
the potential to bankrupt the state,”
and Measure 36, which would limit
marriage in Oregon to one man and
one woman, although he said both
measures were close. Even though
May said he had work at 5 a.m. to
day, he said he would probably stay
up until midnight or go without sleep
to watch returns.
May said the youth vote will mat
ter in this election.
“I think the youth vote is going to
make a difference,” he said. “1 guess
we’ll find out tomorrow.”
College Democrats member Gabe
Zitrin, who has been extensively in
volved in the Kerry campaign, ar
rived at election central around 9
p.m. and said he was not at all dis
tressed by Bush’s lead in the electoral
college because Ohio results still had
n’t been announced.
Zitrin said because the election is
hinging on Ohio and he didn’t think
Ohio would be declared until the ear
ly hours of the morning, “I’m just
waiting for Oregon to come in so I
can have my work validated.”
Zitrin didn’t have to wait long.
Television networks declared Kerry
the winner in Oregon at around 9:45
p.m., sending a loud cheer through
the crowd.
“Now I can go home,” Zitrin said,
as he pumped his fist in the air.
9:00 p.m. — The Eugene Peace
Choir performed as a small contin
gent of Bush supporters cheered the
latest returns, showing Bush is ahead
in the electoral college.
Lane Community College student
Dan Basaraba said he wanted to see
the outcomes of Measures 35 be
cause he said it will have a big impact
on medical issues. He also said he
was interested in Measure 36 be
cause he was “against the way Ore
gon snuck through the back door” to
authorize gay marriage in Multnom
ah County earlier this year.
University sociology professor
Chuck Hunt left the fairgrounds at
about 10:15 p.m. grappling with
what he said was the very real possi
bility that Bush will be re-elected.
Hunt said voters in America have
Elliott Asbury | Designer
John and Ralph Smeed transfer ballots to return to Lane County Elections Tuesday.
a history of making mistakes.
“I’m afraid they made a terrible
one this time,” he said.
Hunt said he will retire and move to
Canada if Bush is re-elected, a claim
other citizens have made but one Hunt
said he fully intends on keeping.
Meanwhile, local Republican candi
dates and their supporters watched live
returns from the Eugene Town Club at
the top of the Key Bank building.
Lane County Republicans Chair
man Bob Avery said he was disap
pointed by the outcome of Jim Feld
kamp’s campaign for Congress.
“I think that Jim is a very substan
tial candidate,” he said. “1 would
hope that he would run again. Not
very many challengers win the first
time out, but many win the second or
third time out.”
Avery added that the election was
positive for Republicans.
“I think we’ve seen a tremendous
new energy for the Republican Par
ty,” he said. “We’re going to keep
building on where we’re going. ”
At about 11:30 p.m. freshman Erin
Swartz and four of her friends gath
ered in a Spiller Hall room to discuss
the election results. All five expressed
disgust over the very real possibility
of Bush winning the election.
“My friends have been calling me
crying,” Swartz said. “People are just
freaking out.”
Swartz said she was most dis
traught over the probable passing of
Measure 36 and Bush’s likely win.
“His stronghold on this country is
scary,” she said.
Spiller Hall resident freshman Bren
dan Nelson, who had already created
a sign promoting Sen. Hillary Clinton
for president in 2008, said he was “dis
appointed” by early results, especially
about measures around the country
banning same-sex marriage.
“I was really, really pissed off every
state voted ‘yes,’” he said.
Candidate reactions
As the votes were tabulated, candi
dates shared their short and long term
plans and reactions to the results.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who re
gained his seat, said he would focus
on economic and higher education is
sues during his next term.
“You cannot have a big league eco
nomic growth with little league poli
cies in higher education,” he said.
Wyden’s opponent A1 King, as of
8:30 p.m., said he still felt he might
win the election. Either way, he said he
would go to the lake to unwind with
his dog Dexter and added that he
would continue to serve on the Kla
math Community College Board.U.S.
Representative Peter DeFazio said he is
pleased with his win.
State Senator Floyd Prozanski,
who was appointed to his seat in De
cember 2003, had his position reaf
firmed by voters.
“It’s very gratifying to have that
support from the voters,” he said.
State Representative Paul Holvey
regained his seat by a large margin.
He said had several priorities for his
coming term, including improving
funding for education, public safety
and health care.
“I’d like to see a dedicated fund for
public safety... to free up funds for
health care,” he said.
parkerhowell@dailyemerald. com
meghanncuniff@ daily emerald, com
News Reporter Moriah Balingit
and News Editor Jared Paben
contributed to this report