As an invocation to the dead spirits is chanted toward the four cardinal points of the compass, smoke emits from an abalone shell burning with a mini cow skull, frankincense and straw. There’s an alter displaying a myriad of items from Mexican culture such as pre-Columbian clay statues, Virgin of Guadalupe, candy skulls and Mexican pastries. The altar was set up to honor those who have died and remember there presence and that they have physically died but their memory lingers.

The Cultural Awareness Center hosted a celebration for Día de los Muertos Nov. 2 where approximately 45 students and faculty learned about the customs surrounding Day of the Dead and how it differs in different parts of the world.

The speakers and organizers of the event were City College counselor David Rasul, community organizer and local artist Juanishi V. Orosco and social activist and community filmmaker Sam Quiñones.

“In different parts of the world, even as far as L.A. and Fresno, the celebrations of Day of the Dead are different,” Quiñones says. “But yet again we accept the idea the same and carry on the tradition of honoring the dead.”

During the presentation, a video produced by Quiñones was shown to the audience demonstrating different celebrations of Day of the Dead in Sacramento. The video displayed images of Aztec dancers, Catholic mass, altars, masks, coffins and other symbols and items used to celebrate the dead. The video also demonstrated the pilgrimage that used to occur in 1996, 1997, and 2004 from Hiram Johnson High School to St. Mary’s Cemetery. The pilgrimage march had to be stopped because of the racism it caused.
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“There would be people shouting, ‘Go back to Mexico because this is the United States and we don’t worship that,’” Rasul says. “So we stopped doing the procession from Hiram Johnson and just began from the gates of the cemetery. Nothing was going to stop us from continuing our traditions.”

The main purpose of the event, according to organizers was to demonstrate that people don’t need to forget those who have passed away or feel saddened by their departure. Several students affirmed this as their experience.

“I learned through this event that death is not something to be sad about because although they may be physically dead they live on through us in what they have taught us and the values they have instilled in us,” says Renee Acosta, sociology major.

Rasul considers the presentation successful.

“The event is a success whether there were two students or 200 students,” Rasul says. “What matters is that the people in audience leave with a feeling, knowledge or just an appreciation of the culture.”