-This photo was at the Dia De Los Muertos Celebration, in El Centro De La Raza’s Seattle, WA. Taken by Group 9 , UW students in GWSS 451 on November 1 2019. The capture represents SIEU 6 service that protect workers rights.

At the Dia De Los Muertos Celebration event, this altar is representing an honor for the SEIU 6, which is labor Union in Seattle that being founded by group to protect the rights of the employees. SEIU 6 present over 7,500 workers in Washington State. SEIU 6 is diverse service membership that present immigrants workforce as well.

This event was a really great experience for me. Having grown up in Hawaii, I was very fortunate to be able to experience a great fusion of cultures, from Hawaiian culture to Japanese culture. However, there wasn’t a huge population of Latinx people, so I knew very little of the culture. The biggest factor as to why I decided to take the Latina Cultural Production class, was to learn more. This has led to me to attend the Dia De Los Muertos event. This was the first time I experienced a Day of the Dead celebration. Whether it was my groupmates speaking their own language to the people stopping by our altar or the kids celebrating this day with their family, I witnessed the strong Latinx culture surronding Dia De Los Muertos and I am very appreciative of this opportunity to be a part of this event.

The picture above is of our altar which commemorates the children who passed while in custody of immigration.

We are group 5.

At the Dio De Los Muertos event, at the bottom floor of El Centro, we had the opportunity to experience part of the culture through its food. There were an array of foods ranging from mole, arroz, frijoles, and a selection of desserts, from arroz con leche, to champurrado, pan dulce, and handfuls of candy. After this, there was a musical procession bringing the event participants from El Centro to the centillion building, followed by folkloric dancing performances. No doubt, this event highlighted the beauty of Latin art, narration of silent stories, and traditions like sugar skull costumes, live music, and the celebration of unity within Latinos remembering loved ones, forgotten ones, and ones who continue la lucha. We couldn’t have had a better experience in El Centro de la Raza.

The picture above is a picture of the band leading people to the procession!

We are group 5.

November 1st, 2019 – 6:30pm

El Centro is packed! It is just as lively outside as it is inside, people are currently eating el pan de muerto and hot chocolate, provided by El Centro. Additionally, performances are occurring, right now a clown dressed in full Dia De Los Muertos attire is doing a comedy act. By the entrance of El Centro people are selling panchos, food, and art, all in the spirit of Dia de Los Muertos. I asked the couple pictured up above what “Dia de Los Muertos meant to them,” they began to explain how its a day of remembrance, and not a day to be sad. Further on explaining how people should not be afraid of death, but rather embrace it. It’s a day to celebrate those who have left us, but also remember the beautiful soul and presences they left on earth.

Here we see a cross-section of students from the Latina culture class eating and chatting in the cafeteria. Currently, there are many people enjoying the free food given out. This is essential because it shows that there is a sense of community and support at this event. This will also encourage people to come together and share a meal while learning the significance of this event. People of all different races and cultures are here, but we all have a common purpose of observing what is happening in our society and how it impacts different groups around us. I am personally enjoying the food and the different conversations that are happening here, and I can say many people feel the same.

October 30th, 2019 – 3:30

As a group, we put the final touches on our altar, focusing on the aspect of Selena’s most memorable accents. We placed flowers, sage, candles, and la calavera on the first level of our altar, representing the underworld. While the second level, earth, we placed water, bread, lip gloss, and a picture of Selena. On the last level, heaven, we placed a rosary in remembrance of Selena and her spirit coming back. 

November 1st, 2019 5:34

We began the ceremony, walked around and saw other altars. Once we walked around we went down to the basement to enjoy some mole con pollo. The group in the picture is the Latina Cultural Production class from the University of Washington, discussing the importance, liveliness, beauty, and togetherness that today, El Dia De Los Muertos has brought.

After the discussion, we watched full length performances by Black Mama, Caye Cayejera, and Taki Amaru. Due to the previous issues with the acoustics of the Intellectual House, the hip hop feministas decided to rap within a cypher instead of in the traditional format of a rapper and an audience. The use of a cypher rather than the stage/audience setup seemed appropriate as it deconstructs the European-created power dynamic of a stage and an audience. When we put someone on a stage, we are putting them up on a pedestal and the bodies that we put on this pedestal have historically been white. The cypher created a feeling of convivencia, allowing the artists to move around freely and dance during the performance. As an audience member, I really appreciated that Taki, Black Mama, and Caye were not willing to accept good enough. As Nicki Minaj once voiced in an MTV documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzGZamtlRP0, women of color are often discouraged from advocating for themselves in the music industry. However, it’s important to demand more for yourself because when an artist advocates for themselves they advocate for all women.