Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, was celebrated early by students in the Woodland Spanish Club by face painting and other activities, Thursday, Oct. 26.
Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday on Nov. 1 where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration, according to
History.com.
“A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from October 31-November 2,” History.com states in an article, although other sources state Oct. 31 is not always included in the holiday, while Nov. 6 can be.
While Oct. 31 is Halloween, Nov. 1 is All Saints Day and Nov. 2 is All Souls Day.
“According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2,” according to History.com.
The students in the Woodland Spanish Club hail from the defunct dual language Spanish immersion program at Columbia Elementary School in Woodland. The club was founded by parent Laura Walker in May of 2023 after the Woodland Public Schools’ levy renewal failure caused the district to eliminate the program.
The club, held at the Woodland Presbyterian Church, is led by Washington State University Vancouver student Joel Ramirez, who has a personal connection to the Mexican holiday.
“It’s been something I was raised on. [It’s] important to my family and making sure we have it and all the traditions keeping to it,” Ramirez said. “What it comes up to be is just a celebration of life once summer is gone. So you’re just celebrating their life even though they’re not with you and making sure that they still feel loved and everything.”
On Thursday, Oct. 26, Ramirez had the students in the club paint classic Dia de los Muertos skull cutouts to take home. After that, he painted Catrina-based skulls on the students’ faces, with the girls asking for a different colored heart on their forehead. The Catrina is an elegantly dressed skeleton figure used as a symbol for the celebration of Dia de los Muertos.
Ramirez took over the program in September and has loved it as he gets to teach the elementary-aged students about his culture and other cultures of Spanish-speaking countries.
“I took over from the teacher that was teaching it, and we’ve just done lessons to make sure they’re still practicing their Spanish and still getting a feel for it,” Ramirez said. “So, it has a lot of my culture in it, but we do celebrate other cultures, like for Hispanic Heritage Month we had them do little presentations and stuff just so they still have that connection with different cultures and getting the Spanish as well as learning it.”
Walker said the club is open to any elementary school-aged students in the community who would like to stay connected and learn Spanish.
The city of Woodland has a large Hispanic population, with 23.9% of the demographic makeup being Hispanic, according to Washington-demographics.com.
For those interested in joining the after-school program on Tuesdays and Thursdays, visit the Facebook group by searching for Woodland, WA Spanish Club. Walker can also be contacted at walker.piano@gmail.com.
