Camarillo, Calif., Oct. 22, 2015 – The traditions of the Mixteco people will play a significant role in CSU Channel Islands (CI) “Day of the Dead” or “Dia de los Muertos” celebration on Monday, Nov. 2, from 4 to 6 p.m. in and around CI’s John Spoor Broome Library.
Music, speeches from area dignitaries and traditional altars to deceased ancestors will all be part of the celebration, along with the tribute to the Mixteco culture, which will be crafted on seven tons of sand by Los Angeles Chicana artist Isabel Martinez and CI art students.
“My idea is to create a mandela, a symbol that represents the universe,” said Martinez, who is part Mixtec. “In the center will be a skull, which represents rebirth.”
The seventh annual celebration will begin with an Aztec blessing and include lively student performances from CI’s Ballet Folklorico and Mariachi performers as well as the Oxnard College Folklorico.
Speakers will include CI President Richard R. Rush, Oxnard College Interim President James M. Limbaugh, Mexican Consulate Berenice Díaz Ceballos, and Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) Executive Director Arcenio Lopez.
CI Art lecturer Denise Lugo, who has organized the celebration from the beginning, said that “Day of the Dead” is a Latino tradition that is more joyful than solemn. “We play music, we sing we talk,” Lugo said of the ancient Latino tradition. “We celebrate the lives of our ancestors. We don’t cry, because they continue to live in us.”
CI’s “Day of the Dead” celebration will be an intercultural, interdisciplinary effort with students from many different areas of study creating altars to loved ones who have passed on. The emphasis on the Mixteco cultural traditions is because Ventura County has the largest concentration of Mixteco people in the nation, Lugo said, and many of their children now attend or will attend CI.
The altars contain photos of those who have passed on, as well as symbols, items or food that the deceased loved ones enjoyed in life. The skulls at the center of the “Day of the Dead” celebration are not meant to be frightening or sorrowful symbols, but colorful, whimsical ornamentation designed to remind the living that their relationship with those who have passed is never over.
“It’s the idea that death is not the end,” Lugo said. “In reality there is no end, because we continue to love them.”
Limited parking is available on campus with the purchase of a $6 daily permit; follow signs to the parking permit dispensers. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the CI Vista Bus to the campus; the cash-only fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.
# # #
About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands(CI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CI's Social Media.